Trees fall on homes and buildings, Triangle wakes up to power outages

After a night of severe storms, the Triangle woke up Monday to a messy aftermath of downed trees, delayed flights, power outages, injuries and even a fire.

Multiple trees fell across the Triangle, including on Cary Towne Boulevard near the Fenton shopping center and the Interstate 40 ramps. At the Brighthurst Condos near Village District in Raleigh, a tree fell into a pool, and the tree tore siding off the side of an apartment.

At 9 a.m. both directions of Wade Avenue were closed in Raleigh near Blue Ridge Road after a tractor trailer crash and downed power lines. Sky 5 flew over the scene.

In Garner on Beichler Road, the top of a tree completely broke off and was sitting on the roof of a home. Sky 5 video showed a hole in the roof of the house.

During a 15-minute period on Monday night, there were 485 lightning strikes, triggering power outages across the state. Several trees also fell on homes and across roadways, creating hazardous conditions for drivers and even injuring at least one couple outside their home near Raleigh’s Village District.

People sent WRAL News photos of downed trees, play structures blown across backyards and even a rare pink rainbow, which appeared after the storm.

So how will the debris and damage impact your morning? Here’s a look at the damage throughout central North Carolina.

NC power outages: Wake County had more than 80K outages at its peak

Many people spent the whole night in the dark.

As of 4:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, there were still more than 50,000 power outages in the Triangle area. By 7:30a.m., that number was down to around 20,000 still without power. At its peak, there were more than 80,000 outages in Wake County. At one point Monday night, there were more than 280,000 power outages throughout the entire state.

How are the roads? Drivers ‘dodging debris’ on the roadways, downed trees create hazardous conditions

Drivers should take caution this morning. Just as power outages could impact your morning commute due to blinking streetlights, fallen trees could also slow down the commute for some.

One large fallen tree is hanging over part of a busy road in Raleigh. The tree fell across Ridge Road near Lewis Farm Road. The tree has been draped in yellow caution tape, but could still be a hazard.

There’s also a large downed tree on Cary Towne Blvd. near the I-40 interchange.

Some drivers told WRAL News they had to ‘dodge fallen limbs’ as they drove into work this morning.

Storm aftermath: Fallen trees, fires and injuries

WRAL News viewers submitted pictures as storms passed through central North Carolina.

Fallen tree near Raleigh’s Village District

In Raleigh, a tree fell near Raleigh’s Village District on Brighthurst Drive.

“We were looking at the treetops, and my wife said that, ‘I think that tree is about to come down,’” said Dave Parker.

Parker and his wife were not injured.

“We were lucky that nothing came into our patio, but our patio is completely walled in with limbs and trees right now,” Parker said.

Parker said he’s lucky no glass was broken at his home. He said pool furniture was broken near his condo.

Woman trapped inside home by fallen tree in Cary

In Cary, a woman was trapped after the tree fell into a house on Palmer Place. A town of Cary spokesperson said no one was injured.

Narrow miss: Tree falls on car in Garner

Garner police and the North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to a tree that fell on a car on Grovemont Road. No one was injured, according to police. The people were out of the car when the tree fell on it, police said.

Car crashes down embankment on NC Highway 55

In Durham, a car went down an embankment on North Carolina Highway 55 and Interstate 40. It’s unclear the cause of the crash or how many people were involved. The road reopened around 11 p.m. Monday.

Apex sees roadway hazards

In Apex, police said there were sporadic traffic light outages, downed trees and ponding water. Drivers were urged to use caution when going through intersections.

Rocky Mount sees dozens of blocked roads

The North Carolina Department of Transportation said more than a dozen roads were blocked by downed trees or power lines in the Rocky Mount area.

Flights canceled at RDU due to storms

Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport each had dozens of flights canceled on Monday night.

Proctorville Baptist Church catches fire

Proctorville Baptist Church caught fire on Monday night.

It’s unclear how the church caught fire at 304 Main St. in Proctorville. However, people on social media said lightning hit the steeple.

Also, the preacher’s son told WRAL News said he heard the lightning strike and smelled smoke shortly after.