Strong storms push into central North Carolina bringing heavy rain, wind, possible tornados

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — A strong line of storms pushed east into central North Carolina on Monday afternoon, knocking out trees and power and causing flood concerns.

In Chapel Hill, a large tree was uprooted and crashed into a home on Hamilton Drive.

“I heard just like a loud boom and a tree like, fell down,” a witness told ABC11. “Whole house collapsed.”

Chapel Hill firefighters were also working a fire at an apartment complex on the 600 block of Perkins Drive off Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

Fire chief Vencelin Harris said it was reported that lightning struck the building but the department is still investigating the incident.

Everyone got out of the units safely.

Harris said it looked like nine units were damaged, displacing 23 people.

“We’re just trying to determine the cause,” Harris said. “We had a line of storms come through that did some damage in the town and this is just one of the effects of it.”

Duke Energy said as many as 17,000 customers in Durham and southern Durham County were without power Monday afternoon.

In Hillsborough, flash flooding caused problems at S. Churton Street and Orange Grove Road.

A large tree also fell at Meredith College in Raleigh but did not block any roadways or entrances.

Several tornado warnings were issued throughout the afternoon; all have been expired by the National Weather Service.

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The First Alert Weather Team broke into live coverage just before 3 p.m. when a tornado warning and a radar indicated tornado appeared around Chatham and Lee counties. Fortunately, there have not been any reports of damage at this time.

This line of storms is associated with a cold front moving into the area. This will bring widespread showers and storms throughout Monday evening.

Some of the storms could be severe with damaging wind gusts, small hail or even an isolated tornado.

Road ponding and isolated street flooding could happen in some areas. Rain totals will likely be around 1-2 inches in most places, but some areas could see as much as 3 inches.