'It was crazy': Man says car shifted into other lane during Wake tornado warning

Craig Morrow talks about his experience driving down Glenwood Avenue when a tornado warning went into effect and his car shifted into another lane.
Posted 3/5/2025, 5:56:11 PM Updated 3/5/2025, 6:58:07 PM

THE LANES ACCORDINGLY AND MAKE

SURE YOU HAVE THOSE SAFE

BRAKING DISTANCES. ALRIGHT,

CHELSEA DONOVAN IS RIGHT AT

LEESVILLE ROAD AND MILLBROOK

ROAD RIGHT NOW IN CHELSEA.

I KNOW YOU TALKED TO SOME FOLKS

AROUND THERE WHO MAY HAVE SEEN

SOME THANKS.

>> YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.

METEOROLOGIST AIMEE WILMOTH

CONFIRMING THERE WAS SOME

ROTATION IN THIS AREA. AND

CRAIG MORROW WHO LIVES IN

RALEIGH SAW IT ALL. WALK ME

THROUGH YOUR MORNING AS YOU ARE

HEADING SOUTH. WELL, I WAS

ACTUALLY JUST COMING TO OR FROM

CRABTREE VALLEY MALL AND I WAS

JUST DRIVING ALONG HERE AND WE

WITH A WARNING CALL ON THE

RADIO.

>> AND LITERALLY WITHIN 10

SECONDS. RAIN WAS JUST COMING

DOWN LIKE CRAZY ELSE

APPROACHING THE INTERSECTION

HERE OF THIS BILL AND ALSO TO

ALL THESE RANCHES STARTED

BLOWING. MY CAR BLEW A LITTLE

BIT OVER TO THE RIGHT LANE AND

WE SAW SOME MOVEMENT AND THEN

WITHIN LIKE 10 SECONDS, IT WAS

SO IT WAS GOT TO JUST FRAZEE

NEVER EXPERIENCED ANYTHING LIKE

THAT. AND IT WAS. THAT'S WHAT

IT'S LIKE. WHAT WERE YOU

THINKING WHEN YOU'RE LIKE AT

THIS INTERSECTION BRANCHES?

HE SAID WE'RE COMING AT YOU,

YOUR CARS KIND OF SHIFTED.

I THOUGHT TO MYSELF FOR THE

20 OR SO LIKE I SAID, JUST

SHIFTED BY CAR LITTLE BIT.

BUT

>> THINGS WERE FLYING ALL OVER

THE PLACE AND LIKE I SAID, LEFT

ABOUT.

>> 10 SECONDS. AND THEN

EVERYTHING BECAME PUBLIC.

AND YET YOU SAID YOU PULLED

INTO THIS PARK AND ARE ACTUALLY

PULLED INTO THIS NEIGHBORHOOD

DOWN HERE WHERE IN A MINUTE

WE'LL SHOW YOU FOLKS THAT

THERE'S A TREE COMPLETELY

BLOCKING THAT AREA. AND THEN

WHAT? WELL, LIKE I SAID, I JUST

WANT TO TURN OF THE DRIVEWAY TO

SURROUND THE BACK OF THE WAY.

AND THAT WAS JUST A BIG TREE

DOWN AND

>> DOWNPOURS ABOUT A 30ND.

SOME OF THE RAIN STOPPED AND

ONE OF THE THINGS YOU SAID TO

ME, CRAIG, WAS YOU GOT THE

WARNING. IT SAID THE STORM WAS

NEAR RDU THOUGHT, OKAY, I'M

FINE. BUT THIS SPEAKS TO JUST

HOW QUICKLY THIS BAND IS MOVING

THROUGH HERE BECAUSE

>> IT HIT YOU VERY QUICKLY.

>> I SAID IT CAME WHEN IT WAS

DRIZZLING AND THEN 10 SECONDS

LATER THIS YEAR AND TO THIS

WALL OF WATER AND THEN CLEARED

AND THEN STUFF STARTED LOCAL

ROUND BY CAR. BUT A LITTLE BIT.

SO A LITTLE BIT OF MOVEMENT,

THE STREET AND THAT WAS OVER

>> WE'RE CERTAINLY GLAD YOU'RE

SAFE. WHAT A WHAT AN EVENTFUL

TRIP TO THE MALL TO OF YOU GOT

WHAT YOU NEED I DID IT WELL.

THANK YOU SO MUCH. I APPRECIATE

YOU WALK OVER HERE WITH AND SO

WE CAN SHOW YOU KIND OF WHAT HE

WAS SAYING. THIS IS THE

INTERSECTION THAT HE WAS AT

HERE AT LEESVILLE AND

MILLBROOK. IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR,

THIS IS WHAT AN A I'M SORRY.

WHAT MEADOW PARK. ALL RIGHT.

SO THESE ARE THE BRANCHES HE

SAID CAME DOWN VERY QUICKLY.

YOU CAN SEE HERE NOW BACK

BEHIND ME, THOSE TREE BRANCHES

DOWN AS WELL. THE LIGHTS HERE

ARE ALL WORKING. THAT'S GOOD

NEWS. BUT YOU CAN SEE OBVIOUSLY

EVIDENCE OF ALL THAT DEBRIS

COURTESY OF THAT ROTATION HERE

IN THE ROADWAY. WHAT CRAIG WAS

TALKING ABOUT IS ONE STREET

DOWN AND WE'LL HIT THAT IN A

MOMENT. THERE'S A VERY BIG TREE

AND POLICE AND ACTUALLY A TREE

CREW ALREADY AT WORK HERE WITH

THAT IS ALL COME DOWN HERE IN

THIS. ALL JUST HAPPENED AS YOU

HEARD, CRAIG, IN JUST A MATTER

OF SECONDS. HE THOUGHT HE WAS

OK, HEARING THAT WARNING

SAYING, OKAY, THERE MAY BE SOME

ROTATION OVER AT RDU. IT WAS

GOING HOME. AND NEXT THING,

YOU KNOW, AS YOU CAN, HE SAID

THAT WALL OF WATER AND THAT

DEBRIS COMING AT HIM VERY

QUICKLY. GOOD THING THAT HE

IS SAFE. OBVIOUSLY, THOUGH,

WE'LL GET CONTINUE TO KIND OF

CHECK OUT SOME OF THE DAMAGE IN

THIS AREA AND BRING YOU OUR

LIVE REPORTS. WE'RE LIVE AT