Triangle could see more storms Wednesday as cleanup continues from earlier severe weather

WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell said areas east of the Triangle were under a Level 1 risk for severe weather during the evening and overnight hours.

"Some areas could still see a strong storm," she said. "But the severe weather threat is really for our eastern cities."

Campbell said a cool sea breeze is inhibiting the formation of storms for North Carolina's inland areas.

But the chance for rain continues into Thursday.

A front moving through North Carolina could trigger more storms for Thursday, Campbell said, adding that there is a 30 percent chance for rain.

"Keep an umbrella handy," she said.

Residents across central North Carolina were working to clean up damage from Tuesday’s strong thunderstorms on Wednesday, even as thunderstorms lingered in the area in the morning.

Storms with lightning and with winds gusting up to 40 mph were moving through Fayetteville around 4:30 a.m.

Steady rain fell in many parts of central and eastern parts for much of the mid-morning hours.

Duke Energy crews worked in Nash County early Wednesday as power lines were down and traffic lights were out.

Numerous trees had fallen in Nashville, including one on a woman’s front yard.

“The clouds were all dark, and all of a sudden it just came pouring down, and the wind was blowing everything sideways,” Betsy Owens said.

“I have big, old trees in my yard, so my heart was kind of beating fast, too,” she continued.

The Nash County Fire Department said seven calls came in for assistance in nine minutes.

An Alexander County mother said she grabbed her sleeping child right before a tree fell on her home.

“As soon as I picked him up, windows shattered, the dining room ceiling fell in, and I knew that something was wrong,” she said. “I think the foundation has shifted because now the house is flooding as well.”

In Wake Forest, lightning struck a tree, which then fell on a family’s home.

Lightning then struck their house.

“It sounded like a semi-truck hit our house,” Ashley Ash said.

She and her husband, Derek, ran outside with their 3-year-old and 6-month-old to get away from the smoldering roof.

"Boom, it hit,” Derek Ash said. “You could smell the lightning. You could feel it – the lights over our island were shaking back and forth.”

Moore County had 3 inches of rain fall, and Nash County had around 2 inches. About an inch of rain fell in the Triangle.