The string of storms moving across the southeast caused some adverse conditions in the Triangle, with Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Durham among the areas issued alerts from the National Weather Service.

A flash flood warning was in effect for several hours on Friday in the towns, as rain caused rapid rises in creeks and streams. The National Weather Service said the warning lasted through 2:15 p.m. and urged people to be cautious of “life threatening” flash flooding. The warnings were rescinded as rain lightened up, but more rain forecasted for the weekend could bring others. Meanwhile, a flood advisory is in effect for much of southwestern Orange County and northeastern Chatham County.

Earlier in the day, a special weather statement for high winds and chances of hail was shared for the same region, as well as northeastern Chatham County. Part of the storm system blew down trees that fell onto power lines near downtown Chapel Hill and in Fearrington Village. Chapel Hill Fire and Police closed Umstead Drive near Umstead Park due to the downed lines. Duke Energy reported the incident caused more than 380 residents to lose power around 10:30 a.m. The estimated time of restoration, according to Duke Energy at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, is around 2:30 p.m.

The Fearrington outage, meanwhile, knocked out power for hundreds of residents in the early morning hours of Friday. As the day wore on, the outages rose to nearly 1,700 residents. Repairs and restoration is expected to be complete around 4:45 p.m., according to Duke Energy.

The power outage in the Fearrington community on April 7, 2023. (Photo via Duke Energy.)

The latest alerts from the National Weather Service can be found here for Orange, Chatham and Durham counties, while the latest Duke Energy updates can be found on its Outage Map webpage.


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