UPDATE: This story has been updated Monday evening with additional information about some power restoration in Hillsborough and Tuesday’s weather forecast.

A winter storm that swept across North Carolina left several thousand Orange County residents without power Monday morning, as the forecast turned even colder.

Heavy rain, strong winds and thunderstorms arrived in the region late Sunday night, with power being knocked out for some Chapel Hill neighborhoods near Eastwood Lake around 11:20 p.m. Those numbers ballooned during the early morning hours on Monday, with nearly 5,000 Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents reporting a power outage around 5:10 a.m. after several Carrboro neighborhoods lost electricity.

In Northern Orange County, several downed trees took out power on Monday morning. Parts of downtown Hillsborough were affected and Duke Energy reported more than 3,000 residents as having outages.

A downed tree on several power lines in Hillsborough, one spot of many in Orange County that led to outages on Monday, January 3. (Photo via the Town of Hillsborough.)

The town governments reported several street closures because of such downed power lines and fallen trees. Hillsborough closed North Wake Street between West Orange and West Union streets due to a fallen tree. The town’s Riverwalk also saw stretches closed due to a fallen tree and power lines near the path. The portion between Nash Street and Kollock Street, as well as the Calvin Street and Fairbault Lane entrances to the Riverwalk, were barricaded from users on Monday.

In Chapel Hill, the town’s emergency services kept several residential roads closed through Monday due to trees being down blocking traffic or hanging in power lines.

As of late Monday afternoon, Duke Energy did not have many estimated times of restoration listed on its Outage Map page for outages in Orange County due to repairs and damage assessment by crews. By Monday evening, some power was restored to around 2,000 Duke Energy customers in Hillsborough and some Chapel Hill-Carrboro neighborhoods regained power throughout the day.

Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood spoke with 97.9 The Hill about staying safe if outages persist across the region.

“We certainly want to remind folks to be safe when it comes to heat,” he said. “Don’t bring a generator in [to a residence,] and certainly don’t put a grill into the house. But whatever source of heat you have that’s safe, make sure it’s robust and ready to go.”

The National Weather Service issued a flood warning until 3 p.m. for all the counties in the Triangle, after a flash flood warning was issued Monday morning. Neighborhoods like Camelot Village and South Estes near Booker Creek experienced high waters, as shared by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and Chapel Hill Police on social media.

Roads closed and reopened in Chapel Hill throughout Monday can be found on the town’s emergency page on its website.

Duke Energy customers who are looking to report power outages can call 800-769-3766, while Piedmont Electric Cooperative customers can call 800-449-2667 or 800-222-3107.

Additionally, the weather led to some additional delays in the afternoon and for Tuesday. As of 1 p.m. on Monday afternoon, the Orange County government has suspended non-essential services due to the winter weather and subsequent outages. The county’s court system is also not going to hold in-person court proceedings on Tuesday, citing inclement traveling conditions.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and Chatham County Schools each announced Monday night they will operate under two-hour delays Tuesday morning. Orange County Schools announced it will be closed again on Tuesday.

Blackwood said the main concern about roads overnight and in the morning will be patches of black ice and other slick surfaces.

“There’s been some ponding [of water,]” he said. “If you’re outside and about, you know it’s cold…what’s going to happen overnight? It’s going to freeze.”

 

Photo via the Town of Hillsborough.

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