Storms hit the Triangle again, days after Chantal deluge. Where to look for floods
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- National Weather Service issued a flood watch for 20 counties, effective through July 10.
- The Triangle could see 0.5 to 1.5 inches of rain, with higher local totals.
- With soaked ground, wind gusts may lead to downed trees.
Days after Chantal dropped a deluge of rain in parts of Central North Carolina, the Triangle experienced additional storms Wednesday night.
Parts of the Triangle were under a flood watch Wednesday, July 9, with more rain in the forecast for the rest of the week.
A flash flood warning has been issued for:
- Raleigh, Cary and Apex until 1 a.m.
- Burlington, Graham and Mebane until 1:15 a.m.
- Durham, Chapel Hill and Carrboro until 1:45 a.m.
In Durham, there are 3,355 customers without power, according to Duke Energy’s power outage map.
At 8:45 p.m., Chapel Hill and Durham both cautioned drivers to avoid driving as well as specific areas due to flooding.
In Durham, those streets are:
- Anderson and Chapel Hill roads
- Garrett Road and Durham-Chapel Hill Boulevard
- 4200 Block of University Drive (Between Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Shannon Road)
- North Duke and West Morgan streets
The National Weather Service said it had received reports of stranded cars but did not identify where.
In Chapel Hill, the town reopened the following roads after flooding concerns.
- S. Estes Drive at Willow Drive (University Place area)
- Umstead Drive at Greene Street
- W. Franklin St. at Mallette Street
- W. Rosemary St. at Pritchard Ave.
- Hillsborough St. near Bolinwood Drive
ABC11, The News & Observer’s newsgathering reported that Carrboro is seeing flooding at Bennett Road and Mt. Carmel Church Road.
In Hillsborough, there is flooding reported at Orange Grove Road and S. Churton Street.
Areas that received the most rainfall over the July 4 holiday weekend are more sensitive to the additional precipitation in the forecast, and flash flooding could occur quickly with heavy rain, according to the National Weather Service.
This comes days after remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal dropped heavy rain across central North Carolina, including more than 8 inches in Alamance County.
Communities are working to rebuild and salvage whatever they could, and some are mourning the deaths of loved ones; six people, as of publication, have been killed.
More rain in the forecast for the Triangle
Broadly speaking, the Triangle could receive between 0.5 inches and 1.5 inches of rain over the next 48 hours, meteorologist Tom Green at the National Weather Service’s Forecast Office in Raleigh told The News & Observer Wednesday morning, July 9.
Greater amounts of rain are expected farther west, and some locations in the Triangle could see higher isolated rainfall with the slow-moving storms, Green said.
A flood watch is in effect for 20 counties across the Piedmont and western Sandhills — including Alamance, Durham, Orange and Chatham counties — starting 2 p.m. Wednesday and lasting until 2 a.m. Thursday, July 10.
The highest chance for rain is Wednesday, but there is at least a 30% chance of rain every day through Tuesday, July 15.
Severe weather possible
In addition to the flood potential, storms could bring damaging wind gusts. Given that the soil is saturated from the rain, wind speeds of less than 60 mph may be enough to topple trees.
Greatest chances for severe weather Wednesday and Thursday are along the U.S. 1 corridor and west, Green said.
Temperatures for the rest of the week are expected to be normal for this time of year, with high temperatures in the high 80s and low 90s over the next seven days. But that puts the heat index around 100 every day, Green said.
Jessica Banov contributed to this report.
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 10:57 AM with the headline "Storms hit the Triangle again, days after Chantal deluge. Where to look for floods."
