How much rain did Chantal drop on the Triangle? The latest totals

Chantal moved across North Carolina as a tropical depression, yet the rainfall it brought caused the Haw River to crest at a level inches below the record, which was observed during Hurricane Fran.

As of 4:30 a.m. Monday, July 7, the river was cresting at around 32.5 feet at I-40. During Hurricane Fran in 1996, the river reached a level of 32.8 feet at the same point, the National Weather Service Forecast Office in Raleigh reported in a morning briefing.

Upstream from that location, the National Weather Service recorded one of the highest rainfall totals from Chantal, which made landfall in South Carolina as a tropical storm early Sunday, July 6. Along the Haw River in the town of Haw River in Alamance County, about 7.8 inches of rain had fallen over the past 24 hours as of 9 a.m. July 7. About 9.4 inches of rain were recorded over the past seven days.

Other high rainfall totals in North Carolina were reported at Booker Creek at Piney Mountain Road in Chapel Hill (7.27 inches over 24 hours), Bolin Creek at Village Drive in Chapel Hill (7.16 inches over 24 hours) and the Eno River at Cole Mill Road in Durham County (6.18 inches over 24 hours).

Heavy rainfall also led Orange County to issue a voluntary evacuation order around midnight Sunday for areas downstream of the Lake Michael Dam in Mebane, which was facing a potential failure, The News & Observer previously reported.

Dozens of people in Durham County had been rescued from flooding of the Eno River, as of early Monday morning.

And along with heavy rain, Chantal brought multiple tornadoes, which have been confirmed in Sanford, Moncure and Mebane.

How much rain did Raleigh get from Chantal?

Rainfall totals across Wake County varied, with some areas receiving around 1.4 inches of rain over the past 24 hours.

Here’s how much rain was recorded across Wake County over the past 24 hours, as of Monday afternoon:

• Swift Creek at Holly Springs Road: 1.17 inches

• Lake Crabtree County Park near the dam: 0.97 inches

• Walnut Creek at Buck Jones Road: 0.96 inches

• Lake Johnson: 0.77 inches

• Crabtree Creek at Ebenezer Church Road near Umstead State Park: 0.61 inches

• Pullen Park: 0.52 inches

• Raleigh Fire Station 18 (Morgans Way at NC 50): 0.47 inches

• Raleigh Fire Station 5, near Village District: 0.44 inches

• Walnut Creek at South Wilmington Street: 0.38 inches

• Raleigh Fire Station 26 (near Barwell and Rock Quarry roads): 0.37 inches

• Crabtree Creek at Highway 70, near Crabtree Valley Mall: 0.36 inches

• Walnut Creek at Sunnybrook Drive: 0.31

• Crabtree Creek at Old Wake Forest Road near the Midtown area: 0.29 inches

How much rain did Durham get from Chantal?

Areas of Durham County tended to receive more rain than Wake County.

Here are rain totals recorded across Durham County over the past 24 hours, as of Monday afternoon:

• West Cornwallis Road near the Community School of Digital and Visual Arts: 4.84 inches
• Third Fork Creek at Woodcroft Parkway: 2.47 inches
• Third Fork Creek at Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway: 1.78 inches
• Durham Fire Station 18 (1403 Seaton Road): 1.63 inches

• Ellerbee Creek Trail at West Murray Avenue, near Edison Johnson Recreation Center: 0.91 inches

• Little Lick Creek at Highway 98: 0.72 inches

This story was originally published July 7, 2025 at 3:08 PM with the headline "How much rain did Chantal drop on the Triangle? The latest totals."

Renee Umsted

The News & Observer

202-383-6008

Renee Umsted is a service journalism reporter for The News & Observer. She has a degree in journalism from the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at TCU.