Tropical Storm Debby in Triangle: Tornado in Lucama, dangerous driving conditions, power outages

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4:30 a.m.: A severe storm is moving northwest through Wilson County, headed toward the Goldsboro area.

4 a.m. Thursday: There are more than 2,500 customers without power in Wake County, according to Duke Energy.

3:45 a.m.: Wilson County remains under a tornado warning until 4:15 a.m. There was “extensive damage” to Springfield Middle School from an apparent tornado in Lucama in Wilson County.

Another storm with potential for rotation was near Stantonsburg in Wilson County, moving northwest at 40 mph. Communities including Wilson, Finch Mill and Bailey were in the track of that storm.

3:30 a.m.: Tornado warnings spurred by Tropical Storm Debby rolled into central North Carolina overnight.

Heavy rain was falling across the area.

Communities east of downtown Raleigh, including Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon were included in a warning until 3:45 a.m.

There were active warnings for northern Johnston County and north Wake County near Rolesville.

“There are probably going to be more tornado warnings today,” WRAL meteorologist Chris Michael said.

There is a tornado watch – which means the conditions are right for tornadoes to form – for multiple counties from Raleigh to the east.

2:30 a.m.: The first tornado warning reached central North Carolina in the 2 o’clock hour for Wilson and Wayne counties. EMergency management in Wilson County reported just before 3 a.m. that a tornado was spotted near Bailey.

Triangle prepares for Debby: Flooding, tornadoes are threat for Thursday

The Triangle is feeling the effects of Tropical Storm Debby, which is expected to pass straight through North Carolina on Thursday and Friday.

“We’re concerned about flooding,” Gov. Roy Cooper said. “We know that in southeastern North Carolina, people have been victimized by heavy rains before. A number of these areas are already wet. The ground’s saturated.”

State and local agencies are also preparing for the storm’s arrival. The City of Raleigh’s Emergency Management Services team is lowering lake levels, so they can hold more water to reduce flooding concerns.

According to the Issac Ward, a general sales manager at Hanna Imports in Raleigh, says he and his employees are moving nearly 400 cars back and forth to make sure cars don’t get damaged in the storm.

“We’re making accommodations for employees, as well as telling them to be prepared whether to come to work or not come into work so that everything goes well,” he said.

Ward also said he’s hoping the community stays safe.

“Safety is the most important thing,” he said. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s well worth it in the end.”

Cary preparing for Debby’s arrival

Town of Cary employees are also working to mitigate the flood risk from Debby.

Jimmy Simpson, assistant director of public works, told WRAL News that the town of Cary started planning and preparing for the storm last week, clearing storm drains and training crews how to safely use their chainsaws when the time comes.

“Invariably, across the city, some trees will come down,” said Battalion Chief Andy Hiscock with the Cary Fire Department.

Debby is expected to dump more than 4 inches of rain on top of the heavy rainfall we’ve seen over the past few weeks. With the ground being so saturated and wet, we could see some outages from wind damage and downed trees.

A rare extreme flood risk will be in effect Thursday for the Triangle and much of central North Carolina, according to NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center. Extreme risks are responsible for 39% of flood-related deaths and 83% of flood-related damages.

Hiscock said Cary has water rescue teams on standby and ways to monitor water levels remotely.

“Our stormwater department can check screen levels and gauges remotely from here and tell us before anyone has to even go out,” he said. “We’re calling different HOAs with lakes on their properties and asking them to lower the levels.”

Hiscock and Simpson said their crews are trained for this, and they’re ready to help when the storm hits the hardest.

WRAL News also shadowed crews with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) on Tuesday as workers cleared debris along U.S. Highway 1 near Cary.

According to the NCDOT, this helps allow water to flow off the road and drain properly.

The governor said he expects to hold a press conference on Wednesday about the storm. He also said the state’s Emergency Operations Center isn’t open yet, but that’s likely to happen in the coming days.

Duke Energy preps for Debby

WRAL News spoke with Duke Energy about what crews are doing to prepare for Debby.

Duke Energy is ready for possible power outages from Debby, with crews in the Carolinas on standby and hundreds of linemen and utility workers in Florida, responding to Debby’s impacts.

Crews are most concerned about torrential rain leading to flooding. Drivers are urged not to drive through standing water and to avoid downed power lines.

“I always say, if there is ever a storm with a name coming your way, you should have a plan in place,” said Jeff Brooks, Duke Energy spokesperson. “I think we are in good shape at the moment. We are going to be watching the forecast over the next 24 to 48 hours.”

According to Brooks, a concern with Debby is its slow-moving pace, which means it can drop a lot of rain over a longer period of time. This could lead to dangerous flooding.

Brooks added Duke Energy will have a staging area near Walnut Creek Amphitheater for power crews. According to Brooks, it could serve as a central dispatch area for out-of-state and contact crews that will be essential to Duke Energy’s large-scale response effort.

“We are going to see conditions with Debby that were very similar to Florence – that slow-plotting pace of storm with heavy rain,” Brooks said.

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“This is really going to be all about the rain,” WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said, explaining the greatest threat to our state will be flooding.

The heaviest rain is expected to fall in our area between Wednesday and Friday, bringing the greatest risk for flooding. A flood watch is in effect for central and eastern North Carolina until Friday night.

Estimated rain totals from Debby include:

• Wilmington: 10-15 inches
• Fayetteville: 6-9 inches
• Raleigh: 4-7 inches
• Durham: 4-7 inches
• Northern counties: 3-5 inches

WRAL News spoke with Justin Graney, North Carolina Emergency Management’s chief of external affairs and public information officer, about how the state is preparing for Debby.

On Monday afternoon, North Carolina was in “enhanced status,” which places emergency managers across the state to assist local communities with resource allocation.

Flooding is especially a concern this week after days and weeks of rain. July was the wettest July to date, with a record 9.11 inches of rain, 5.2 inches above the normal rainfall amount for July.

“We are concerned with flooding and the additional rain that’s going to come,” Graney said. “A lot of areas saw flooding this weekend, and we’re going to continue to see a lot of rainfall throughout the state … the time to prepare is now.”

ReadyNC.gov is a great resource to help people plan for a hurricane. People can also visit FIMAN.nc.gov, North Carolina’s Flooding Inundation Mapping and Alert Network, to sign up to get alerts when rivers near their home are at risk for flooding.

“You need to prepare a disaster kit for your home and have a plan of action in case it’s needed for a disaster,” Graney said.

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