Thousands still without power in Chapel Hill after downed trees, storm damage

By Julian Grace, WRAL anchor/reporter and Aaron Thomas, WRAL reporter

More than 3,000 customers in the Chapel Hill area were without power Tuesday morning after severe storms with downpours and strong winds brought down trees Monday evening.

Residents on Tuesday were cleaning up after severe weather ripped through the Triangle, leaving some neighborhoods in shambles.

Durham and parts of Orange County were some of the hardest hit areas, with numerous trees down onto houses and busy streets.

The storms ripped off branches, split trunks and left thousands without power.

Lawns and roads across central North Carolina were scattered with branches, limbs and even full trees.

Several reports of trees blocking roads have come in from areas like Wake Forest and Sanford.

A tree on Hamilton Road, about a mile and a half away from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, snapped in half falling on top of a nearby apartment.

The tree, completely uprooted, landed on a bedroom in the apartment. A 13-year-old girl was in the living room at the time, though thankfully was unharmed.

The family was displaced by the damage, but their property manager was able to get them a hotel room.

In Durham, a tree fell into a home, leaving what the residents say was 10 holes in their roof. A brand new Tesla was also totaled when the tree fell.

Just two houses down, their 90 year-old neighbor stood just feet away from where a tree took out the back of his house.

Utility crews are working to address power outages around the Triangle, with Duke Energy reporting over 7,000 outages in the Durham area alone in the immediate aftermath. Some residents were told they may not have power until Tuesday.

Flooding will continue to be a threat, even after the storms pass.

No injuries have been reported as a result of the storms.