Heavy rain, wind cause problems across Triangle, state

Tuesday, October 24, 2017
Heavy rain, wind cause problems across Triangle, state
Heavy rain, wind cause problems across Triangle, state

Much of our state is cleaning up after being slammed by severe thunderstorms overnight that brought flooding, damaging winds, and possibly even tornadoes that damaged homes, flipped tractor-trailers and small planes, and downed a lot of trees. Thousands of homes and businesses also lost power, forcing some parks to close Tuesday.

The rains caused flooding problems across Raleigh, including on Glenwood Avenue near Crabtree Valley Mall late Monday where a car lost control in the wet conditions, causing the road to be closed while emergency crews worked the scene.

There were also issues along Peace Street near Capital Boulevard. The rain caused soil near the construction site to become loose, forcing authorities to close the roadway briefly.

A car lost control on Glenwood bear Crabtree Valley Mall on Monday night.

DAMAGE ACROSS THE STATE

The storms closed two state parks in North Carolina, spokeswoman Katie Hall said. Chimney Rock State Park was closed while crews dealt with damage that included a landslide. Stone Mountain State Park in Roaring Gap, North Carolina, was also closed because of downed trees

At least 15 homes damaged in Caldwell County after a possible tornado moved through.

Today, the National Weather Service will be in the area to determine if a tornado caused the damage.

The storm uprooted trees and brought power lines down leaving many homes in the dark.

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Just miles south in Hickory, 15 more homes are damaged.

Authorities said they believed a tornado touched down, flipping over some small planes at an airport. Trees in the area were also toppled.

"I was just worried about trying to save myself, and all I saw was that wall of water come through and then it flipped that hangar over the hangar that's still standing," one witness said.

Crews were working to restore power overnight after trees downed power lines in the area.

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In Surry County, trees and power lines were brought down with a possible microburst reported in Pine Ridge. Trees were also toppled in Alleghany County, where a barn and a mobile home sustained damage.

A tree fell onto a car in the Moravian Falls community in Wilkes County, where wind also took down trees. Local media outlets reported building damage in North Wilkesboro.

Officials in Montgomery County reported damages to structures and downed trees outside the McCoy community.

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The N.C. Department of Transportation said heavy rain on Monday caused a small mudslide on U.S. 64 near its intersection with U.S. 74A in Henderson County, leading the department to close the highway.

A detour has been set up until the road is cleared and deemed safe.

An NCDOT crew responded to the slide and immediately closed the road. Workers trimmed two trees to take weight off the roots, and a team was to monitor the scene overnight before additional assessments are made after sunrise Tuesday.

TRIANGLE FORECAST FOR THE WEEK

A noticeably cooler autumnal air mass will move in Tuesday night and be with us on Wednesday and Thursday.

Despite plenty of sunshine both days, daytime highs will hold in the 60s. Nighttime readings will fall to near 40 both nights.

Warmer air will return here again Friday and Saturday, boosted by continued sunshine for all of Friday and most of Saturday. Then, our next chance of rain will come by Saturday night into Sunday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.