The Triangle saw downed trees, flooded roads and widespread outages Thursday as Tropical Storm Debby moved through the area. There could be more flooding on Friday as river levels rise from the rain Debby brought to the area.
Tree blocks Wade Avenue in Raleigh
On Friday morning a tree fell on Wade Avenue at Dixie Trail in Raleigh, bringing down powerlines. The tree was blocking both lanes of Wade Avenue.
Also on Friday, a tree fell into a building at the Sailboat Bay Apartments on Lynn Ridge Drive in Raleigh. A viewer sent video to WRAL News.
A man who lives in the building showed a WRAL News crew one of the branches poking through the ceiling of his apartment.
He didn’t want us to share his name, but described what it was like when the tree came crashing down while he was working at home.
"It felt like a huge explosion," said the man. "The whole thing shook and I figured, I didn’t know if it was a tornado or what it could be."
The City of Raleigh’s Urban Forestry unit has been hard at work, clearing blocked roadways or powerlines that were taken out by fallen timber.
"You're taking some pretty saturated ground and you're adding a significant amount of rain on top of that," said Zach Manor with the city of Raleigh. "For trees that were unstable to begin with, it makes it much easier for them to fail or give way."
Manor said there are some preventative measures people can take.
"You see trees in your yard more than anyone, so have a professional come take a look if it appears to be on its last legs," he said.
A large tree also fell at an apartment complex on Gregory Drive in Cary, but it didn't hit a building.
Debby impacts and damage on Thursday
Here's a look at the damage caused by Debby on Thursday in the Triangle:
4:49 p.m.: Crabtree Creek continues to rise. A viewer sent in a photo showing vehicles underwater along Glenwood Avenue in Raleigh.
3:46 p.m.: A Hillsborough family has been displaced after a tree crushed part of their home. No one was hurt. Nathaniel Buchko, who lives in the home, told WRAL that he was watching TV around 7 a.m. when the tree came crashing into the home. His 5-year-old and six-month-old daughters were asleep with their mother in a back bedroom and were unharmed. The family's two dogs were also safe.
"I was lucky enough that my family were asleep in the back room," Buchko said. "It scared them greatly, but they're getting through it. They're at nana's house playing and doing their thing."
2:50 p.m.: There are more reports of downed trees in the Triangle. A viewer sent in this photo from northwest Durham showing a large tree on its side.
1:32 p.m.: Raleigh emergency crews have rescued three children who were in Marsh Creek in Raleigh. They were rescued by boat.
1:19 p.m.: A power outage in northwest Durham has left a traffic light out at NC-751 and US-70.
11:45 a.m.: Flooding remains an issue in the area as Debby moves through. A viewer in Wake Forest sent us this photo of his backyard, which backs up to Smith Creek.
11:38 a.m.: Crabtree Creek continues to rise flooding nearby greenways, according to a report from the National Weather Service. The latest flood stage at Wake Forest Road was 13.6 feet.
11:26 a.m.: There are more reports of downed trees in Raleigh. A tree was down at Durant Road and Windcross Drive and another at Honeycutt Road and Woodwind Court.
10:45 a.m.: To see a full list of Durham streets that are affected by Debby Thursday morning, click here.
10:32 a.m.: Flooding has been reported on Mangum Dairy Road near Garfe Sharron Road, west of Wake Forest in Wake County. The road is closed in both directions.
10:21 a.m.: The greenway entrance at Crabtree Creek at Wake Forest Road in Raleigh had significant flooding on Thursday morning.
10:05 a.m.: The City of Raleigh has closed all greenways due to the potential for flooding. Also, a downed tree on Rolesville Road in Wake County has been cleared.
9:50 a.m.: A downed tree was reported on SR-3345 (Longford Drive) near Sturbridge Road in Raleigh. The road is blocked in both directions.
9:30 a.m.: A tree fell on top of a home on Silvers Road in Raleigh.
9 a.m.: Trees continue to topple across the Triangle.
There are more reports of downed trees at the following locations:
- 4409 Ebeneezer Church Road
- 1106 Rainbow Ridge Court
- 1302 Colony Drive
- 1106 Englewood Court
8:30 a.m.: The town of Hope Mills shared the following closures due to high water. High water signs have also been posted as well.
Drivers should avoid the following roads:
- Hunting Ridge Road: portions of Hunting Ridge near the intersection of Rockfish Road are flooded.
- Rockfish Road: Rockfish Road is still passable with care.
- Deaver Circle: Deaver Circle has been barricaded. Please avoid this area.
- Sommer Drive: Sommer Drive has been barricaded. Please avoid this area.
- High water signs have also been posted as well.
8 a.m.: WRAL News has received reports of multiple trees down in Raleigh, including a tree blocking one lane of Glenwood Avenue at Granville Drive in Raleigh. Some trees were massive and completely uprooted. Some of the reports of downed trees were at:
- Glenwood Avenue at Granville Drive
- 7500 Ebeneezer Church Road in Raleigh
- 10601 Creedmoor Road in north Raleigh
- Coronado Drive in Raleigh
- Silvers Road, near Penny Road and Lake Wheeler Road in Raleigh
- Riley Hill Road and Mable Point Drive, near Wendell
- Riley Hill Road and Edgemont Road, near Wendell
More than 100,000 customers are without power in North Carolina, according to Duke Energy, with many outages in and just west of the Triangle. More than 7,000 customers have lost power in the Triangle, many in Wake and Orange counties.
Debby has prompted more than 15 tornado warnings so far in central North Carolina and one Wednesday in Sampson County. Three tornadoes were confirmed Thursday morning, in Wilson (2:15 a.m.), Edgecombe (5:25 a.m.) and Franklin (8:15 a.m.) counties.
7 a.m.: WRAL News is hearing reports of multiple trees falling across the Triangle. WRAL's Shaun Gallagher was at the scene of a large tree blocking one lane of Glenwood Avenue near Granville Drive. Traffic was moving past the tree in the other lane.
Drivers across the state can visit DriveNC.gov to see road closures due to flooding, crashes and other hazards.
6:30 a.m.: At least 10 homes were damaged by a tornado that blew through Wilson County before dawn on Thursday.
A spokesman for Rock Ridge Fire Department told WRAL News that a two-story home on Lloyd Road collapsed near Lucama. "It looks like the second floor dropped in," he said.
The other homes damaged in Wilson County were searched and cleared, but a FEMA search and rescue crew was at the scene of the Lloyd Road home.
4:45 a.m.: In Lucama, an apparent tornado destroyed a home on Lloyd Road in the early hours of Thursday morning.
WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth came across the home on the way to inspect tornado damage at Springfield Middle School.
Download the WRAL News app for alerts | Watch live, latest news on WRAL News+
4:30 a.m.: Heavy rain falling in bands from Tropical Storm Debby made roads dangerous throughout central and eastern North Carolina. Water was ponding on low-lying areas and visibility was low.
More than 50,000 customers across North Carolina were without power, including thousands in Wake, Durham and Cumberland counties.
4 a.m.: There are more than 2,500 customers without power in Wake County, according to Duke Energy.
3:30 a.m.: Tornado warnings spurred by Tropical Storm Debby rolled into central North Carolina overnight.
Heavy rain was falling across the area.
Communities east of downtown Raleigh, including Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon were included in a warning until 3:45 a.m.
There were active warnings for northern Johnston County and north Wake County near Rolesville.
"There are probably going to be more tornado warnings today," WRAL meteorologist Chris Michael said.
There is a tornado watch – which means the conditions are right for tornadoes to form – for multiple counties from Raleigh to the east.
Triangle prepares for Debby: Flooding, tornadoes are threat for Thursday
The Triangle is feeling the effects of Tropical Storm Debby, which is expected to pass straight through North Carolina on Thursday and Friday.
"We’re concerned about flooding," Gov. Roy Cooper said. "We know that in southeastern North Carolina, people have been victimized by heavy rains before. A number of these areas are already wet. The ground’s saturated."
State and local agencies are also preparing for the storm's arrival. The City of Raleigh's Emergency Management Services team is lowering lake levels, so they can hold more water to reduce flooding concerns.
According to the Issac Ward, a general sales manager at Hanna Imports in Raleigh, says he and his employees are moving nearly 400 cars back and forth to make sure cars don't get damaged in the storm.
"We're making accommodations for employees, as well as telling them to be prepared whether to come to work or not come into work so that everything goes well," he said.
Ward also said he's hoping the community stays safe.
"Safety is the most important thing," he said. "It's a lot of work, but it's well worth it in the end."
Cary preparing for Debby's arrival
Town of Cary employees are also working to mitigate the flood risk from Debby.
Jimmy Simpson, assistant director of public works, told WRAL News that the town of Cary started planning and preparing for the storm last week, clearing storm drains and training crews how to safely use their chainsaws when the time comes.
"Invariably, across the city, some trees will come down," said Battalion Chief Andy Hisco*ck with the Cary Fire Department.
Debby is expected to dump more than 4 inches of rain on top of the heavy rainfall we've seen over the past few weeks. With the ground being so saturated and wet, we could see some outages from wind damage and downed trees.
A rare extreme flood risk will be in effect Thursday for the Triangle and much of central North Carolina, according to NOAA's Weather Prediction Center. Extreme risks are responsible for 39% of flood-related deaths and 83% of flood-related damages.
Hisco*ck said Cary has water rescue teams on standby and ways to monitor water levels remotely.
"Our stormwater department can check screen levels and gauges remotely from here and tell us before anyone has to even go out," he said. "We're calling different HOAs with lakes on their properties and asking them to lower the levels."
Hisco*ck and Simpson said their crews are trained for this, and they’re ready to help when the storm hits the hardest.
WRAL News also shadowed crews with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) on Tuesday as workers cleared debris along U.S. Highway 1 near Cary.
According to the NCDOT, this helps allow water to flow off the road and drain properly.
Kamala Harris, VP pick postpone Raleigh visit due to Tropical Storm Debby
The governor said he expects to hold a press conference on Wednesday about the storm. He also said the state's Emergency Operations Center isn’t open yet, but that’s likely to happen in the coming days.
Duke Energy preps for Debby
WRAL News spoke with Duke Energy about what crews are doing to prepare for Debby.
Duke Energy is ready for possible power outages from Debby, with crews in the Carolinas on standby and hundreds of linemen and utility workers in Florida, responding to Debby's impacts.
Crews are most concerned about torrential rain leading to flooding. Drivers are urged not to drive through standing water and to avoid downed power lines.
"I always say, if there is ever a storm with a name coming your way, you should have a plan in place," said Jeff Brooks, Duke Energy spokesperson. "I think we are in good shape at the moment. We are going to be watching the forecast over the next 24 to 48 hours."
According to Brooks, a concern with Debby is its slow-moving pace, which means it can drop a lot of rain over a longer period of time. This could lead to dangerous flooding.
Brooks added Duke Energy will have a staging area near Walnut Creek Amphitheater for power crews. According to Brooks, it could serve as a central dispatch area for out-of-state and contact crews that will be essential to Duke Energy's large-scale response effort.
"We are going to see conditions with Debby that were very similar to Florence – that slow-plotting pace of storm with heavy rain," Brooks said.
"This is really going to be all about the rain," WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said, explaining the greatest threat to our state will be flooding.
The heaviest rain is expected to fall in our area between Wednesday and Friday, bringing the greatest risk for flooding. A flood watch is in effect for central and eastern North Carolina until Friday night.
Estimated rain totals from Debby include:
- Wilmington: 10-15 inches
- Fayetteville: 6-9 inches
- Raleigh: 4-7 inches
- Durham: 4-7 inches
- Northern counties: 3-5 inches
WRAL News spoke with Justin Graney, North Carolina Emergency Management's chief of external affairs and public information officer, about how the state is preparing for Debby.
On Monday afternoon, North Carolina was in "enhanced status," which places emergency managers across the state to assist local communities with resource allocation.
Flooding is especially a concern this week after days and weeks of rain. July was the wettest July to date, with a record 9.11 inches of rain, 5.2 inches above the normal rainfall amount for July.
"We are concerned with flooding and the additional rain that's going to come," Graney said. "A lot of areas saw flooding this weekend, and we're going to continue to see a lot of rainfall throughout the state ... the time to prepare is now."
Make a family emergency plan: Be prepared when severe weather arrives
ReadyNC.gov is a great resource to help people plan for a hurricane. People can also visit FIMAN.nc.gov, North Carolina's Flooding Inundation Mapping and Alert Network, to sign up to get alerts when rivers near their home are at risk for flooding.
"You need to prepare a disaster kit for your home and have a plan of action in case it's needed for a disaster," Graney said.
Helpful links
- Connect with WRAL wherever you are
- Interactive hurricane tracker
- 2024 hurricane season: What to do when a hurricane is coming
- Hurricane survival kit: How to keep your family safe when a hurricane hits
- Hurricane-proof your NC home: Essential steps to weather the storm
- Hurricane evacuation plans and routes for the North Carolina coast
- Preparing food for hurricane season: Essential food and water strategies for emergencies
