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A powerful autumn storm which killed one man, downed trees and power lines, and caused scattered flooding across the Charlotte metro region slowly is relaxing its grip on the area Thursday afternoon.
The remnants of Tropical Storm Ida reformed into a powerful new storm along the Carolinas coast overnight, sending gusty winds that knocked down trees and caused thousands of power outages.
This morning's damage came in the wake of flooding and strong winds Wednesday that were responsible for the death of a Mooresville man.
By Thursday afternoon, rain and wind associated with the coastal storm system were diminishing slowly in the Charlotte metro region. Light rain continues to fall, and winds are gusting above 20 mph. But the heaviest rain has pushed northeast of the Charlotte area, and winds are not as strong as this morning's gusts to near 40 mph.
The storm is continuing to pound northeast North Carolina and eastern Virginia, however.
Thousands of Mecklenburg County customers lost power at times Thursday morning, and wet streets were blamed for a tractor-trailer wreck that closed the ramp from Independence Boulevard to the Brookshire Freeway during the morning commute.
Authorities in Mooresville confirmed Thursday morning that an elderly man died late Wednesday of injuries suffered several hours earlier when a large tree limb crashed into his car. Mooresville authorities have not released the name of the victim. The car was in the victim's driveway, on Oakwood Street, when a part of the tree fell. The man suffered head injuries and was hospitalized, Mooresville fire and rescue officials say.
His condition worsened later Wednesday evening and he died, authorities say. Ida's remnants spun across the Carolinas on Wednesday and grew into a powerful nor'easter after reaching the coast early Thursday. The new storm is more powerful than Ida was when it made landfall as a tropical storm Tuesday on the Alabama coast.
It is causing wind gusts of 70 mph and 30-foot waves off the North Carolina and Virginia coasts, closing roads and halting ferry service in several spots.
Total rainfall from the storm in the Charlotte area was nearly 3 1/2 inches at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport. However, the automated gauges monitored by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities showed nearly 5 1/2 inches in northeast Mecklenburg County, in the Mallard Creek and Reedy Creek basins. Significant flooding was reported Wednesday along Mallard Creek.
Rainfall totals of 4 1/2 to 5 inches were common in the University City area.
In Charlotte, at least three major thoroughfares were blocked by downed trees Thursday morning, causing thousands of power outages. Duke Energy crews made quick work in restoring power since daybreak, but outages are still being reported -- and with strong wind gusts expected to continue into this afternoon, more downed trees and power line problems are possible.
A tree fell on a house in Newton, but an adult and his three children escaped injury. "It sounded like an earthquake," David Cunningham, father of the three children, told WCNC-TV, the Observer's news partner.
In Catawba County, crews are working to clean a pair of sewage overflows that happened Wednesday during the heavy rainfall.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Utilities officials reported five significant overflows of rain water and wastewater during the storm, but they said the city's drinking and bathing water supplies were not affected.
The biggest overflow in the Charlotte area was in the 2300 block of Margaret Wallace Road, where 200,000 gallons of water reached the Campbell Creek Basin. Another 37,800 gallons reached the McAlpine Creek basin in the 8700 block of Monroe Road.
The other incidents were in the 500 block of Museum Drive (13,300 gallons into the Briar Creek Basin); 9000 block of Monroe Road (1,200 gallons into the McAlpine Creek Basin); and 7000 block of Lancaser Drive (2,400 gallons into the McAlpine Creek Basin).
By mid-afternoon Thursday, Duke Energy reported about 7,600 power outages in its service area -- down from more than 15,000 at daybreak. The biggest area affected was Union County, with nearly 2,000 outages reported. Only 461 customers were without electricity in Mecklenburg County, down from 11,000 earlier Thursday morning.
Downed trees blocked portions of Queens Road West, Sharon Road West and Harrisburg Road for all of Thursday morning, into the afternoon hours. Power lines also fell with the trees on Queens Road West and Sharon Road West. And the tree that fell on Harrisburg Road landed on a vehicle, causing minor injuries to the driver.
A tractor-trailer that apparently hydroplaned on the ramp from Independence Boulevard to the Brookshire Freeway overturned Thursday morning. Authorities were forced to close that ramp and detour all Independence traffic onto the John Belk Freeway. Lanes have been reopened since then.
Forecasters say they expect rain to taper off to drizzle late tonight, then end by Friday morning. Winds also are forecast to diminish later this evening. Friday is forecast to be cloudy, but temperatures are expected to rebound to near 60 degrees. A big improvement is forecast for Saturday, with partial sunshine and highs in the lower 70s.
In the Charlotte area, the only report of flooding this morning was in Chester County, S.C. Police reported a portion of Raxter Road in the town of Edgemoor was closed because a creek had spilled out of its banks.
Wednesday's flooding and heavy rain caused numerous problems in the Charlotte area.
Officials in Hickory said two sanitary sewer overflows were reported Wednesday, after more than 4 inches of rain fell in a 24-hour period. The city's drinking water supply remains safe, Hickory authorities say.
The first overflow happened at the Northeast Waste Water Treatment Plant on Cloninger Mill Road. About 78,000 gallons of sewage was released shortly after 4 a.m. because heavy rain overloaded the system. That sewage went into Falling Creek.
The second discharge was about 8 a.m., when 34,500 gallons escaped the sanity sewer system in the 1500 block of 10th Street Place NW. That overflow went into Horseford Creek.
The headache that might have affected the most people came late Wednesday afternoon, when a motorist hit a power pole on East Independence Boulevard near Briar Creek Road. That crash knocked down power lines, closing both sides of Independence Boulevard for several hours in the evening. Thousands of motorists were detoured, including those headed to the Southern Christmas Show. That show was closed early Wednesday evening.
Flooding was reported in parts of Lincoln, Cabarrus and Union counties, although no evacuations were necessary.
Since the storm started Tuesday morning, more than 3 1/3 inches of rain has fallen at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport.
In the northeastern corner of North Carolina conditions today are bad. Tidal flooding, due to windy conditions, has caused road closures in several counties. N.C. 12 on the Outer Banks is closed, north of Rodanthe, because of ocean overwash. The N.C. Department of Transportation says the road will be closed intermittently over the next 24 hours, until the slow-moving nor'easter pulls away.
The DOT also has halted runs of its Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach ferry and its Currituck route. The Currituck route was halted Wednesday evening, when high winds pushed water out of the sound. It is expected to resume service Friday. The Cherry Branch route was halted Thursday morning, when tides on the Neuse River became too high for ferries to get under the ramps and load or unload vehicles. It is not clear when that service will be resumed.
WCNC-TV contributed.
