Tropical Storm Idalia to bring winds and rain to the Carolinas on Thursday

Colleen Hammond
·2 min read

Idalia has been downgraded to a tropical storm, but its impact will still be felt along the Carolina coast on Thursday. In the Triangle area, several thousand people lost power overnight.

The then-hurricane made landfall in Florida on Wednesday, with 125 mph winds and several inches of rain. According to the National Weather Service, the storm is headed northeast along the coastline, and flooding could still occur in the central region.

What to expect

  • A hazardous weather outlook is still in effect in central NC

  • Sustained winds of 15 to 25 mph are expected across much of central NC.

  • Wind gusts of 35 to 40 mph are expected mainly east of a line from Fayetteville to Goldsboro.

  • Isolated downed trees and power outages are expected across much of central NC.

  • The highest winds are expected across the southeast portion of the state

  • Potential flooding and rain are expected through Thursday morning.

  • Up to an inch of rain could fall across the eastern Sandhills Coastal Plain.

Power outages

Storms making their way through the Triangle overnight knocked out power to a few thousand customers, according to Duke Energy’s outage map.

  • Wake County: 1,741 customers without power

  • Durham County: 265 customers without power

  • Johnston County: 79 customers without power

Power is expected to be restored by 12:45 p.m. in Wake County, 11:15 a.m. in Johnston County and 5 p.m. in Durham County.

School Closures

  • The Wake County Public School System is closed Thursday. All extracurricular activities for Thursday are canceled. No makeup days will be needed. Banked instructional time will be used for all schools that are in session.

  • Durham Public Schools will close for students Thursday. Staff will operate on a two-hour delay.

  • Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools planned to be open and operate on a normal schedule Thursday. The school system will communicate updates to the public through email, its website and social media.

  • The Orange County Schools has not announced any changes in schedule or closings.

  • Chatham County schools and the district office will be closed for all students and staff.

  • Chatham Charter School in Siler City will open at 10 a.m. for K-12 students and staff are directed to report to work by 9:20 a.m. Thursday. The campus will open for students at 9:30 am. All after school activities Thursday are canceled.

  • Johnston County Public Schools will be closed on Thursday; this includes all after-school activities on Thursday. “This decision has been made out of an abundance of caution and per the guidance of local and state emergency service officials,” the system stated in a news release.

  • Central Carolina Academy in Sanford will operate in an asynchronous remote learning format on Thursday, a school spokesperson said. All after school activities for Thursday are canceled. Students should login to Canvas to complete assignments. Eleventh graders taking college courses will need to continue working on course assignments.