Chantal brought flooding & tornadoes to central NC. What to know about the storm
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- Chantal brought flash flooding and tornadoes to central NC, causing evacuations.
- One death was reported in Chatham County; thousands lost power across the region.
- Tornadoes and river flooding disrupted roads and rail service and damaged communities.
By the time Chantal had reached central North Carolina on Sunday, July 6, it had already been downgraded to a tropical depression.
The storm, which made landfall Sunday in South Carolina as a tropical storm, brought heavy rain to central North Carolina, with areas in Alamance, Orange, Durham and Chatham counties seeing the most precipitation.
Storms like Chantal are categorized based on wind speed, not potential danger from flooding, storm surges or tornadoes. And as storms make landfall and lose access to warm water that fuels them, they slow down, which can cause prolonged rain in specific areas.
In addition to flash flooding, which led to water rescues, evacuations and two deaths, as of Monday at 8:30 p.m., multiple tornadoes associated with the storm were spotted.
On Monday, as skies cleared and rain paused, communities across the region began to return to their homes and businesses to assess the damage and begin recovery.
But meteorologists warn of additional storms and showers later in the week — which could cause additional flooding, particularly in areas that received the heaviest precipitation over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
Flooding and evacuations in Durham County
▪ The Eno River flooded Sunday night. By early Monday, more than 80 people in Durham County were rescued by boat, and dozens more were evacuated on foot.
▪ High Meadow Road, Omega Road, Felicia Street and Greymont Drive in Durham were affected by flooding.
2 dead, dozens evacuated in Orange & Chatham counties
▪ Sandra Portnoy Hirschman, an 83-year-old woman from Pittsboro, died Sunday after her car was swept away by floodwaters in Chatham County.
▪ Monica Butner of Hurdle Mills, who was reported missing Sunday night, was found Monday at 5 p.m. She went missing while on her way to work during heavy rainfall. She was 58.
▪ An unnamed person in Mebane in Alamance County has died.
▪ Business owners in popular shopping centers including Eastgate Crossing and University Place worked to clean up and assess their shops and restaurants, which had been flooded and damaged.
▪ Overnight, more than 60 people were evacuated from apartment complexes in Chapel Hill. They began returning home Monday morning to take stock of damage and salvage whatever possible.
▪ Fallen trees and flooding blocked roads in and near Mebane, Hillsborough and Carrboro.
▪ About 3,000 customers in Orange County served by Piedmont Electric Cooperative lost power. More than 3,800 Duke Energy customers in Chatham County were without power as of Monday afternoon.
▪ County and state agencies were searching for two missing boaters on Jordan Lake. One of the boaters was found Tuesday morning and the search continued for the second one Tuesday afternoon.
Rivers flood, tornadoes spotted outside the Triangle
▪ The National Weather Service confirmed tornado sightings on Sunday in Sanford, Moncure and Mebane. Tornado warnings were in place for Graham, Haw River, Burlington and Woodlawn on Sunday, but the NWS recorded no sightings.
▪ Heavy rainfall caused the Haw River to flood, affecting downtown Saxapahaw, where water sunk cars, spilled into buildings and covered a bridge.
▪ Around midday Monday, Interstate 40/85 in Alamance County reopened. The road was closed in both directions for hours early in the day because of flooding.
▪ Amtrak curtailed its Piedmont service because of flooding, operating only between Greensboro and Charlotte, with buses taking passengers between Raleigh and Greensboro.
Cleaning up after the storm
▪ Chantal caused power outages for thousands of customers across the Triangle. Here’s our guide to deciding what to keep and what to toss from your refrigerator and freezer after losing power — and what to know about boil water advisories.
This story was originally published July 7, 2025 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Chantal brought flooding & tornadoes to central NC. What to know about the storm."
