Crashes, closures and flooding across central NC from heavy rain

Thursday's storms will drop several inches of rain across central North Carolina. The biggest risk is flooding, but parts of the Triangle are also seeing power outages, crashes and downed trees.

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4:30 p.m.: A tree fell into a home in northern Wake County. The fire department responded.

3:15 p.m.: Parts of Durham got more than three inches of rain from this event. Some readings in Hillsborough exceeded four inches. 

2 p.m.: A downed tree blocks Hardee Road in northern Wake County.

1:30 p.m.: A tree was uprooted along Parkway Drive in Raleigh. Tallwood Drive had a downed tree as well.

12:30 p.m.: A Duke Energy spokesperson said there are downed power lines at two locations in Raleigh, one at Oak Park Road and another at the Raven Ridge Road/Hardee Road intersection.

There are pockets of power outages around Southpoint Mall in Durham and Lake Wheeler Road in Raleigh.

The inclement weather has caused numerous crashes and road issues during the Thursday morning commute. On I-440 in Raleigh, a pickup truck crashed into the concrete barrier.

In Orange County, flooding closed a portion of I-40 Westbound between Exit 261 and Exit 259. That stretch of road has since reopened.

"We are responding to multiple calls for flooded roads, cars in the water and trees down," the Orange Rural Fire Department posted on Facebook. "If you have to go out, give yourself extra time. If you usually travel the interstate between Hillsborough and Efland to work or home, find a different route and stay off the interstate. As always, be safe and know that when you need us, we are coming for you."

There was also a serious crash on U.S. 70 at N.C. 50 in Garner, where a car went into a ditch during reports of ponding in the area.

Before 9 a.m., Duke Energy's outage map showed around 2,000 customers without power in Durham. There is a smaller outage in Garner, showing 168 customers without power in the area of West Garner Road and Weston Road due to a fallen tree.

Another tree fell in Raleigh at Millbrook Road and Ivy Lane.

More than 2,500 Chatham County customers lost power in Siler City early Thursday morning. Many of the outages were caused by fallen trees or limbs damaging equipment. 

In Orange County, around 400 customers were without power at one point. Around 60 customers were without power near downtown Wake Forest, with impacted streets including South Brooks Street, East Jones Avenue, East Owen Avenue and South White Street.

According to the National Weather Service in Raleigh, more than 6 inches of rain had fallen in High Point as of 5 a.m. on Thursday. Burlington, Greensboro and Winston-Salem have also seen several inches of rain.

WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said between 1 and 3 inches of rain has already fallen in the Triangle, and more rain is expected.

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WRAL meteorologists said bands of rain will slide southward throughout Thursday, and more rain is likely for the evening commute.

Areas southeast of the Triangle like Smithfield and Goldsboro could see the worst flooding on Thursday. Download the WRAL Weather app to get alerts and find the latest weather updates here.