National Weather Service confirms small tornado hit Durham Thursday
DURHAM (WTVD) -- A long day of storm cleanup is over for people living off of Hope Valley Road in Durham.
The National Weather Service confirmed Friday than an EF-1 tornado hit their neighborhood Thursday snapping trees and downing power lines.
The mess Mother Nature left behind caught many people off guard. Streets were still littered with debris, and downed trees from the twister.
"The tree that went through my neighbor's house, we don't know where the tree came from," said Walter Turner. "So, it's not one from their own yard."
The tornado brought winds up to 90 miles per hour and snapped countless trees. They came down on homes or through windows.
James Harrie was just sitting down in a room when a tree crashed above him.
"All of a sudden boom, and the dogs were going crazy," said Harrie. "It was just kind of terrorizing for a few minutes."
Harrie has been basically trapped at his home since the tornado downed trees surrounded his car and blocked his driveway.
The NWS estimates 40 homes suffered structural damage.
Many people stayed home from work to deal with the destruction.
"It's kind of tough to get up and go to work the day after that so," said Turner. "I expect they'll take the weekend and get everything situated, and I'll imagine a lot of adjusters will be around."
Even with all the work that lies ahead, many are thankful.
"I'm glad that nobody really got hurt, and you can always get your house fixed," said Andrew Bishop. "You can always replace a car, but you happen to lose a live -- that's different."
Residents will begin to pick up the pieces again Saturday.
The NWS was also investigating the possibility of a second tornado on the Durham/Person County line.
Widespread rainfall totals of two to three inches were common across the Triangle and it will take days for flooding to subside in some areas.
The rain caused Crabtree Creek to overflow onto the greenway behind Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh. Many Triangle residents were left in the dark for several hours. Duke Energy Progress crews worked all night to restore power to customers.
