Latest: Several roads closed and search and rescues underway due to excessive flooding
Reports of fallen trees and crashes accompanied heavy rain falling across the Triangle on Wednesday, a WRAL Weather Alert Day. Much of the area is under a flood watch all day.
Keep yourselves safe during flooding
Live updates
6:55 p.m.: Chatham and Wake counties under a flash flood warning until 8:45 p.m. on Wednesday.
6:05 p.m.: The heavy rain in the Triangle is done for the evening. Meteorologist Mike Maze said any other rain that happens throughout the evening should be light showers.
Officials with the DOT said Olive Chapel Road is expected to remain closed. The road is closed between Ashley Downs Drive and Patterson Grove Road.
In Nash County, sheriff’s deputies announced the two people that were swept away by flood waters have died.
6:00 p.m.: Multiple power outages throughout the area. In Durham nearly 1,500 customers are without power. Person County has over 550 outages, Granville County has 305 outages, and Franklin County is seeing 174 outages.
5:50 p.m.: The Nash County Sheriff’s Office will hold a press conference at 6 p.m. for the two missing people swept away by flood waters.
5:45 p.m.: The flash flood warning for Franklin, Johnston, Nash, and Wake counties has been extended until 7:30 p.m.
5:15 p.m.: Apex police have extended the Olive Chapel Road closure due to a large sink hole.
In a post on Facebook, officers said the closure is near Ashley Downs Drive. The DOT is working to handle detours and repairs. Drivers are asked to avoid the area.
Police did not say when the road is expected to reopen.
5:10 p.m.: The flood advisory for Franklin, Halifax, Johnston, Nash, Wake and Warren counties has been cancelled.
4:55 p.m.: The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for Wayne County until 7:45 p.m. Chatham and Wake counties are under a flash flood warning until 7 p.m.
4:05 p.m.: Durham police are investigating two crashes on Interstate 40 near NC Highway 55 that has traffic down to one lane in both directions. Police expect heavy traffic during the evening commute and encourage drivers to find alternate routes.
Police said there were no serious injuries, and the investigation is still ongoing. They encourage drivers to take extra precautions when driving on wet roads.
3:30 p.m.: NC-581 near US-64 ALT is temporarily blocked in both directions as Nash County Sheriff’s deputies are searching for two missing people in the floodwaters. Roads are expected to reopen at 7 a.m. Thursday.
3:05 p.m.: Apex police shared in a post on Facebook Kinship Lane and Curling Creek Drive are closed due to high standing water. Olive Chapel Road between Ashley Downs Drive and Patterson Grove Road are also closed due to flooding.
3:00 p.m.: Cumberland and Sampson counties are under a flood advisory until 6 p.m.
2:45 p.m.: NC-581 near McLean Street in Nash County is closed in both directions due to flooding. According to the NC Department of Transportation, roads are expected to reopen at 7 p.m.
2:40 p.m.: The flash flood warning for Lee County has been extended until 4:45 p.m.
2:30 p.m.: Franklin, Johnston, Nash and Wake counties are under a flash flood warning until 5:30 p.m. Chatham County is under a flash flood warning until 3 p.m. The Apex mayor
2:20 p.m.: The National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory for Franklin, Halifax, Johnston, Nash, Wake and Warren counties until 5:15 p.m.
12:50 p.m.: The National Weather Service in Raleigh issued a Flash Flood Warning for Lee, Chatham and Moore counties until 2:45 p.m.
12:40 p.m.: WRAL was on the scene of a downed tree at a neighborhood on Laughridge Road in Cary. Crews have been at work taking apart the tree and removing it from the road, in the middle of heavy rain.
12:40 p.m.: A WRAL viewer sent video of flash flooding at Prestonwood Golf Course in Cary. The course seems to be completely covered in water.
12:30 p.m.: Walnut Creek levels have risen, with higher levels at Buck Jones Road and Trailwood Drive. Buck Jones Road at the Cary/Raleigh border is at 6.5 feet, up from less than a foot from early this morning. Trailwood drive is approaching 11 feet, which is up from 4 feet this morning.
11:40 a.m.: Crabtree Creek has risen to 12 feet by Crabtree Valley Mall. The creek was sitting at only 4 feet before the rain started this morning. The WRAL Storm Tracker was in the area and saw a sedan flooded in the median on Glenwood Avenue near Creedmoor Road.
The creek is considered minor flood stage at 16 feet and major flood stage at 23 feet. According to WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth, the current level of 12 feet means the Crabtree Creek greenway could flood.
10:30 a.m.: A flash flood warning has been extended until 12:30 p.m. for Wake and Chatham counties, impacting areas like Jordan Lake, Apex, Cary, Morrisville, Raleigh and Wake Forest. Some areas have seen 2 to 4 inches of rain so far.
8:50 a.m.: Traffic is at a standstill on Interstate 40 East in Raleigh after a crash near Exit 299 for Hammond Road. One person was transported to a hospital. The crash has since cleared.
8:30 a.m.: The Durham Police Department posted photos of flooding on N.C. Highway 147 near Hillandale Road, which has reduced traffic to one lane.
The post on X read: “Durham Police would like to remind people to slow down in heavy rain and never attempt to drive through flooded roads.”
A flash flood warning has been canceled for Durham and Orange counties. A new flood advisory is in effect for Granville, Vance, Warren and Franklin counties until 11:45 a.m.
7:45 a.m.: More than 1,000 customers are without power in Raleigh. Duke Energy’s outage map shows an outage impacting more than 800 customers in the area of Lake Boone Trail and Wycliff Road. Hundreds of others are without power in northwest Raleigh near Pleasant Valley Road. WRAL News is working to learn the cause of the outages.
7:15 a.m.: Four people were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a crash on Western Boulevard near Ashe Avenue. According to police, a wrong-way driver hit another car head-on, and two people from each car were transported.
6:55 a.m.: A flood advisory is in effect for Wake, Chatham, Durham and Franklin counties until 10 a.m. As much as 1.5 inches of rain have already fallen, and additional 1 to 2 inches is possible.
6:30 a.m.: Durham police are blocking Duke Street and Horton Road, where a car and a Person County EMS vehicle were involved in a crash. Another crash was reported on Western Boulevard near Hunt Drive in Raleigh.
6:15 a.m.: The heaviest rain is moving into Wake County, according to WRAL meteorologist Chris Michaels, and we’ll see the worst of the rain moving out of Durham and Orange counties.
6 a.m.: Duke Energy’s outage map shows about 750 customers without power in Raleigh in the area of Lake Boone Trail, near UNC Rex. WRAL News has received multiple reports of downed trees.
5:35 a.m.: The WRAL Breaking News Tracker saw a tractor-trailer that crashed on I-40 East in Durham near Davis Drive. The road was partially blocked.
5:30 a.m.: Parts of Orange County, including Hillsborough and Efland, have already seen 2 inches of rain. A flash flood warning in effect for Durham and Orange counties includes some areas hit hard by Chantal, including areas around the Eno River in Durham and East Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.
5:15 a.m.: Crashes were reported on I-440 East near Wake Forest Road in Raleigh, where a man was hit by a vehicle, and on I-40 West at Harrison Avenue in Cary. WRAL News is working to learn if the crashes are weather-related.
5 a.m.: Power has been restored to hundreds of customers in the area of South Roxboro Street in Durham. Power was restored to most by 5 a.m. A crash was reported Utility crews on Wednesday were working to repair a power outage impacting hundreds of customers in Durham.
4:45 a.m.: A flash flood warning is in effect until 7:45 a.m. for areas like Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and Durham, where 1 to 2 inches of rain have fallen. An additional 1 to 2 inches are possible.
4:30 a.m.: Duke Energy’s outage map showed 650 customers without power in the area of South Roxboro Street. According to Duke Energy’s website, the outage was caused by fallen trees or limbs damaging equipment.