Afternoon Triangle storms cause travel issues, power outages

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) — It was a chaotic scene on Old Kemp Road in east Durham on Saturday. Fast-moving thunderstorms created slippery conditions and limited visibility, as well as toppling trees, and blocking the road.

“It got pretty bad you couldn’t even see my cousin’s house, he lives like 20 feet behind me. Couldn’t see his house and then the power just went out,” said Chase Bishop.

Bishop said he waited hours for the power to come back on.

Just across the street, the wet roads caused a minor wreck involving two cars. The drivers did not want to go on camera, but they were okay, and it appeared as if they hydroplaned.

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The weather also created problems in the air. Robert Buan saw the forecast and thought it would just be a normal delay for his flight into RDU.

“It was nothing to be alarmed about at that point but then we got closer to RDU and everything changed,” he said.

Instead, his flight was supposed to land right as the storms were barreling through.

“I had no idea it would turn into six or seven laps around RDU and that turns into ‘well were running out of fuel we got to land somewhere and it’s just not here.'” Buan said.

In the end, he was diverted to Charlotte unsure if they’d be able to make it to Raleigh.

“We didn’t know what the weather situation was like, we had no idea what was going on,” Buan said.

Thankfully, his flight was eventually able to go from CLT back to RDU, and he was able to arrive more than 3 hours after he was supposed to.