CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) – Thousands of power outages occurred in the Carolinas early Friday afternoon after Tropical Depression Debby caused widespread blackouts.
Debby moved through North and South Carolina as a tropical storm on Thursday, August 8, causing power outages across the region. At one point, more than 100,000 Duke Energy customers in both states were without power.
Rainfall and gusty winds moved out of the region later Thursday and Debby was downgraded to a tropical depression. Power was restored to most Duke customers by Friday.
Away Friday, August 9, 12:31 p.m.to 7,500 Duke Energy customers were still without powerThese outages were largely concentrated in North Carolina, particularly the Charlotte, Raleigh, Durham and Greensboro areas.
At that time, only a few hundred power outages were reported in South Carolina.
You can track outages on Duke Energy’s outage map here.
“As Debby leaves the Carolinas, our teams continue to assess the damage left behind and make repairs as conditions permit,” Duke’s website said Friday afternoon.
Power was expected to be restored to most customers later Friday — mostly by the afternoon in most areas. Customers without power in Cabarrus County and the city of Rockingham, North Carolina, were expected to have power restored Saturday afternoon and Saturday morning, respectively.
Duke Energy customers can find specific restoration cost estimates in their mobile app.
Tropical Storm Debby caused communities throughout the greater Charlotte area to be inundated with several inches of rain in a short period of time on Thursday.
Tropical Storm Debby — which was downgraded to a depression Thursday afternoon — made landfall in South Carolina for a second time early Thursday, August 8. In the Charlotte area, rainfall began around 2 a.m. and continued throughout the day, dropping several inches of rain in communities whose soils were already soaked with rain.
Rain caused flooding across the region on Thursday, and flood warnings and alerts are expected to remain in effect in some areas through at least Friday due to the storm’s aftermath.
Many communities in the Charlotte area recorded 2 to 4 inches of rain through 5:25 p.m. Thursday, with some areas recording more than 4 to 5 inches. Click here for a list of rainfall amounts for the Charlotte area.
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