Flash flood warnings expired across our area early Thursday morning, but central North Carolina is bracing for another round of rain Thursday evening, prompting a WRAL Weather Alert Day.
Heavy rain fell overnight in Raleigh and Durham. Minor flooding and several road closures were reported, including on Western Boulevard and Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh, but the flooding was not comparable to Sunday night's storms, which caused water rescues and several deaths.
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After 2 a.m., Raleigh police officers blocked a small stretch of Blue Ridge Road that was flooded between Noremac Drive and Townedge Court. The road was blocked until after 7 a.m., with city crews removing an estimated 20,000 gallons of stormwater.
More rain and wind damage is possible Thursday evening. A flood watch remains in effect for our entire area through Thursday night, with another round of storms possible Thursday evening by 7 p.m. or 8 p.m.
Trees down in the Triangle, minor flooding, water rescues
While the flooding impacts were not severe Wednesday night, several large trees fell, including a 90-foot-tell tree that came down in a yard on University Drive in Durham.
The tree buried a car that was parked in the driveway. Neighbors told WRAL News the tree fell around midnight and they woke up to the sound of chainsaws around 1 a.m. as city crews worked to clear the limbs from University Drive before rush hour.
As heavy rain fell Wednesday night in Durham, the Durham Fire Department said on Facebook that they rescued three people and a dog stranded on Falls Lake after they were overrun by the storm. Firefighters said the three people and dog were safely brought to shore.
"They were able to make it to an island on the lake, where they used a flashlight to signal our rescue crews once we arrived," the fire department said on Facebook.
The Apex Fire Department rescued five people from a boat on Harris Lake as intense rain fell Wednesday night. Firefighters told WRAL News that no one was hurt and all the people in the boat are on dry land now.
Earlier in the evening, a semi-truck appeared to be trapped in water on Durham-Chapel Hill Road. The driver was rescued from the truck and is expected to be OK.
Water rushes down Durham street
Parts of Durham saw up to 2 inches of rain overnight. According to Duke Energy, at one point more than 2,600 customers were without power in Durham.
The ponding on roads led police in Durham to close several roads Wednesday night, including Anderson Road at Chapel Hill Road, Garrett Road at Durham Chapel Hill Boulevard, the 4200 Block of University Drive, N. Duke Street at W. Morgan Street and Hunt Street at Foster Street.
Wednesday night, people posted videos on Facebook of water rushing down Madison Street in Durham. People who live in the area said it floods there often.
Durham resident Dakota Jolly explained how her husband helped people after their neighborhood flooded.
"[He] stopped someone across the street from turning their car on, because everything underneath their car was wet, and he was like, your electricity might fry if you cut your car on," Jolly said.
Jolly said the water was deep in her neighborhood Wednesday night.
"It was already two feet deep when we came out," she said. "A couple of cars were floating. The man hole cover had already pushed off and water was already gushing out of the ground."
To help minimize flooding, people can clear their storm drains before it rains.