ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 11pm - July 28, 2026

Episode Date: July 29, 2026

Eyewitness News at 11pm - July 28, 2026 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Right now, live coverage from your local news leader, preparing you for tomorrow starting tonight and your first alert forecast. Here's what's happening where you live. This is ABC 11 eyewitness news. And right now at 11, a lot of cleanup is underway following a night of severe storms all across the triangle. From Chapel Hill to Raleigh, our live drive vehicles were out there on the road, breathing sheets of heavy rain and bringing it live to you here on ABC 11 through the evening. The storm's also causing extensive damage to homes in Wake County. Check out this video from Leedsville Road. That area near I-540 near the airport right now. The search is underway for a man who's missing in a home where a tree came crashing down.

And that damage was a byproduct of this severe thunderstorm. We have this video from the RDEU airport, simply remarkable. You can see just how heavy the rain was, how frequent the lightning was hitting, that surrounding area. Led to a lot of flight delays at the airport tonight. Good morning. It's here for eyewitness News at 11. I'm Steve Daniels. Lauren is off tonight. It is a first alert weather day. And you can see the storms causing a lot of severe damage. From trees knocked down, damaging homes and blocking roads to cars damaged in flash flooding. Tonight's weather system has taken a toll on the area. Our breaking news crews on the scene will show you the damage live in the minutes ahead, including at a home in North Raleigh where a tree came crashing down on a home and now a man is missing. Let's turn now to Cruz Medina who is in for dawn tonight. Cruise walk us through the situation. What you're seeing on the radar right now. and how the evening has unfolded for us. Well, it's definitely been an active evening, Steve. Lots of severe thunderstorm warnings,

and we can see the damage reports pouring in. So these are official reports sent to the National Weather Service through various outlets. But you could see this mainly favored our northern counties, so from person county back to Alamance, Durham, Orange counties into Wake County, and extending now down into Johnston County as well. So these are just the reports that have been verified. there could still be more that pour in in the overnight hours and early tomorrow as well. It's worth noting this severe thunderstorm watch has been trimmed down for the triangle

in our counties that border Virginia, but still remains in effect for the sand hills and areas like Wayne and Sampson counties until 1 a.m. First alert Doppler net, you could see all of that rain is now to the east of Wake County. We still have a severe thunderstorm warning here for Wayne and Johnston counties. This goes until 1130. The city's impacted Brogden, Goldsboro, Stony Creek, and Wilson. and then farther to the south, Cumberland County, you are under severe thunderstorm morning until 1115. Both of those severe thunderstorm warnings I just called out the primary threat would be from damaging wind. So thankfully later tonight we are going to clear out.

We'll be back to a partly cloudy sky. Tipters drop into the low 70s and tomorrow a completely different day compared to today. No chance of storms, lots of sunshine and tipgers in the mid to upper 80s. Now we have some reporters out right now covering a lot of the damage, especially there in parts of Raleigh coming up a little later on the show. I'm going to walk you through what exactly is probably the cause of that. But for now, we'll get to Steve with the details. Yeah, you watch that unfold on radar earlier this evening and we'll walk through that in the minutes ahead. Cruz, thanks. Tonight's stormy weather caused a lot of disruptions in several parts of

Central North Carolina from heavy rain to strong bursts of wind. City officials were busy tonight doing everything possible to keep people safe and now we are tracking these reports of pretty extensive damage across the triangle. In downtown Raleigh, the red hat amphitheater had to be evacuated tonight during the highly anticipated Bob Dylan concert. The venue posting the decision was made because of lightning there in downtown Raleigh. Power outages have been an ongoing concern tonight too. Right now about 12,000 customers are without power in Wake County in this hard hit area we've been telling you about. And that area that was hit hard is near the RDEU airport at Leesville Road near I-540. We have team coverage from that area tonight.

We want to begin with Tom George, who's live in a neighborhood on Big Creek Road. Tom cleanup is Underway after a tree fell on a house there. There's now a man missing inside that house. Tell us what else you're learning. Yeah, we're still working to learn more, but obviously very intense situations as neighbors are wanting to know what's going on right here. We were actually pushed back a little bit from where this house was. But I want to show you we're on the other side of it right now. You can still see these crews right here. And if you look there in the distance where that yellow tape is, it appears that that is the base of the tree there. So a very large oak tree apparently, toppling during those storms onto a two and a half story home. I want to take you to some video that we shot a little bit earlier while we were a little bit closer where you can see that damage tearing a giant hole through that home right there where we are right now. And we do know that there was apparently a man on the second floor of the home unaccounted for right now.

We're still working to learn more about his condition. We were told by sheriff's deputies that arrived on scene. We saw some crews leaving and then we saw Wake County Sheriff's deputies putting up some yellow tape telling us to step back out of respect, but not giving us any updates on condition right now. So we're still working to learn that. We have seen us some neighbors walking around, wondering what's going on,

especially with the family that lives here at this home. But as it stands right now, they are still investigating this right now. And it's not just the area where we are right now. As we were heading here, we saw at least one other tree that it hit a different home. We had seen roads with debris in the road, some flooding, all of this just in about a two square mile radius from where we are right now,

all in this 540 Leesville Road area. This was obviously the most severe of the calls that we had seen and again working to learn more on that, but really this whole area hard hit by those storms. As we were driving around, we had seen some pockets where the power would go out. As a matter of fact, as we were driving here initially about an hour and a half ago, we had also seen a lot of the streetlights without power, a lot of four-way stops, people having to navigate that. Here the power looks to be back on in this particular neighborhood, but the investigation right now still ongoing into this tree that fell into this home. We've reached out to the Wake County Sheriff's Office. We are waiting on an update from them. We'll of course continue

to let you know as soon as we know more. Reporting live, Tom, Georgia, ABC 11, Otis News. And Tom, I know you're being kept some distance away. That yellow tape is up, keeping people away. Is there any sign of a search operation going on in that house where the tree came down looking for that man? And any signs of how this. process is unfolding there right now? It's all pretty much centered on the house itself. So, you know, essentially it's all focused on the back part of the house. They do now have it taped off.

So that's where they are looking as they continue their investigation. We saw EMS crews there a little bit earlier. Just about within the last half hours, when deputies took over and told us to step back. And it seems they are searching the perimeter of the house as they continue to investigate. this case right now. So again, we're going to continue to stay on top of it and I'll let you know we have reached out to the sheriff's office directly as they take over this investigation here. We'll let you know as soon as we know more. Okay. We know a man lives in that house. He is unaccounted for right now and there appears to be an operation underway to try to locate him. Tom George in North Raleigh, Tom, thank you. And we had another breaking news crew on the scene of another tree down on a home in Raleigh. This happened on country courts. This is off falls on the news road. You can see the damage done to this house here and we're told at least three. cars were destroyed there as well by these down trees. Fortunately, everyone there in that neighborhood is okay.

James Price joins us now from another tree that's down on Pinecrest Road. This is in the area of I-540 Leesville Road, I-540, the RDU Airport, that area. And Jamies, this is one of the weather-related incidents you've been responding to tonight. And you've described this neighborhood as an absolute mess. So many trees down, it sounds like first light tomorrow will reveal exactly what the situation is like in that neighborhood. A lot of damage out here, Steve, and I was talking to a fire crews not too long ago that just really described so many down trees here in this neighborhood near Spring

Del Estates, and I want to show you one of those down trees here. Take a look here. This massive tree covering the road here and a Raleigh fire crew not too long ago. Cut this tree down and move most of the down branches and those limbs out of the way so that fire crew could get to its fire station. because what we learn from that fire crew is that one of their fire engine crushed by one of the trees falling in this neighborhood. Right now you have a Raleigh crew here to work to remove what's the left of this tree to get this out of the way here so that cars can get through this in May thoroughfare here. Pine Crest Drive again near Springdale Estate.

So communities across our area seeing severe damage with this weather tonight. was in Orange County. I was in Durham County. Also experienced some severe weather, major flash flooding over there. Take a look here. This is how things look on Lumley Road. This is between Miami Boulevard and Page Road near a stirrup Creek. Now the creek spilled over covering the roads where drivers had to be rescued from their cars. We had the opportunity to speak with some of those folks who were stranded and needed to be rescued. We spoke with a couple. They were outdoor dashing when their car was swept off the road. They told me that kids from the neighborhood helped them until rescue crews arrive.

Take a listen to how they describe things tonight. My car is about to go over. So the first thing I figured is we got to get out of here. I stepped out of the driver's side and I looked and I saw that water was not quite at my feet. Where she was at, though it was coming in the car. So yeah, we wanted to get out. That was really just get out. Get out. Time to go. All right, Steve, I want to show you just how massive this street is,

and you can see what's left of it. These huge limbs just laying across the road here. And this was blocking the road for several minutes tonight until that Raleigh fire crew rolled up on it. And they pulled out their chainsaws and got to work really trying to clear this pathway. One again, so they could get back to their fire station also trying to clear this way for those drivers. who were trying to get through, but now we have another crew out here working to clear this all the way up so that they can continue going through this neighborhood. But as you mentioned, off the top of Steve, a lot of damage in this community. Again, we're just off of Pine Crest Road where we're on Pine Crest Road, but we're not too far from Springdale Estate,

where we've heard so much damage in that community, a lot of down trees. And that's coming from that Raleigh fire crew that's out here working right now to make sure everyone is okay. Yet, and it's just been very hard for firefighters to get there because of the down tree, so they don't even understand the scope of the damage there in that part of Raleigh, which is just off I-540, south of I-540, near the RDEU airport. So, Jemise Price, if you learn more this half hour, we'll report in with you again live on the scene with our breaking news crew there. Again, first light tomorrow will, I think, reveal the greater toll of the damage in that part of Wake County. Jimis, thank you.

And you can take a moment to download the free ABC 11 eyewitness news app to help track the changing weather conditions when you're on the go. Search for ABC 11 in your app store. So to come here on eyewitness news at 11, we're getting an update from the Caribbean where a woman from Kerry named Liz Waddell is missing in Grenada. We have an update from authorities and her husband coming up after the break. And first alert, Daltonet, still showing a few severe thunderstorm warnings. These are well south and east of Raleigh. This is the last push of these storms before clearing out later tonight. And then we'll be back to dry and quiet weather for the next three days. There's your tipters there on the screen, 70s for tonight.

We'll take a look at your seven-day forecast coming up. The 2026 Chevrolet Tracks is the stylish SUV for those on the move. And with the standard Chevy safety assist package, you have the backup to handle every turn with confidence. The 2026 tracks, start your build at Chevrolet.ca. My name is Peter Parker, but I'm also Spider-Man. This Thursday, we're faced with a threat. That can be anyone.

The world. may have forgotten Peter Parker. I'm just a neighbor. Friendly neighbor. But he hasn't forgotten them. Sometimes Spider-Man has to do the hard thing. That's my responsibility. Talk to Banner?

I didn't know you could get that big. Spider-Man, brand new day. In theaters Thursday. We are back now with an update on the search to find Liz Waddell. She's the Carrie woman who's been missing now for nearly a week in Grenada. And take a look at this surveillance video released today on that Caribbean island by Liz's family. It's from the Airbnb where she was staying. And if you zoom in here, the family says you can actually see the 43-year-old jumping off a jetty into the water and there's a splash and then she swims out of frame.

Her husband said today in a post on a new website they created, he actually went swimming in that area himself. And he says it's shallow near the shore. It's rocky in certain areas there. And the water is more like a lake, not like the ocean water we have here in North Carolina. Tomorrow marks a week since she vanished. And today, police on the Caribbean island gave an update on the search. Authorities say several things have been done since her disappearance, including underwater searches, a canine deployment and a review of rip currents in the area. It is our hope that Elizabeth would be found and found alive and well.

The Royal Grenada Police Force remains equally hopeful that she would be safe and that she is safe. And we continue to appeal for cooperation to us. Any bit of information will do at this time. hope that we can locate Elizabeth very soon. Liz owned a physical therapy studio and also worked as a dance instructor in downtown Kerry. Aereida Fitness posted a message on social media today. It says we want to keep her face and her name out there. Prayers that Liz is found and returns home safe to her family and friends. Liz's husband who works for the town of Kerry was not ingranated when she

disappeared but he is on the island now helping in the search for his wife. We have an update now on the ongoing cyclospora outbreak. The state health department reporting 157 new cases of the stomach bug since last week. So that brings the total number of cases to 718 across North Carolina. 24 people have been in the hospital. More than 400 of those cases are in Wake County. And the state says a source, what is making people sick still has not been identified. All right, let's turn back to the breaking news.

The weather unfolding tonight. Cruise is back with us. And Cruz, we've been showing people the damage there in North Raleigh. I-40 and Leesville Road, essentially. And on the radar earlier tonight, we were live on the air. we were talking about this. You saw what appeared to be a downburst on the radar, which is a very strong winds produced by a thunderstorm. Absolutely. And so that signature just really stuck out to me. We were live covering this when it happened. And so I want to get over to the weather maps here and just kind of show you what was that play here. This was around 916, 918, at least based off the radar scan. And so essentially our radar is down here. It's off screen. This would be back toward downtown. Raleigh toward Clayton where our radar is actually situated. The green winds, that would

be winds flowing toward the radar. The red was indicating winds flowing away from the radar. And so right in the middle of those two, that's likely where air is hitting the ground and spreading out in all direction. So we know that as a microburst. And microburst can be very similar in, in wind speeds to a weak tornado. So think of a lower end, EF0, EF1 tornado. And that's likely what we saw there right near RDU and Leesville. And so we just had our reporters out there kind of showing you the damage there. There's a lot of trees down in that area. So it would not surprise me if we did indeed see a microburst this evening. First alert Doppler net still showing some severe thunderstorm warnings. These are well off to the east of Raleigh at this point.

Kind of for our counties right along the I-95 corridor. So Wilson County in downtown Wilson, you're not seeing rain. This is the complete south side, almost near the Wayne County, Johnson County line where we have that severe thunderstorm morning until 1130. This includes the cities of Brogden, Goldsboro Stoning Creek. And then farther to the south, we have portions of Cumberland and Samson counties under severe thunderstorm morning until 1145. Both of these severe thunderstorm warnings, by the way, are for 60 mile per hour wind. So as these storms race along, they are possible or could possibly, I should say, produce some damaging wind gusts.

So first alert predictor walks is through tonight. These storms will exit pretty quickly. We're back to sunshine for tomorrow morning. Tupters will be in the low 70s. Our winds are out of the north. And so that's going to help to keep the humidity a little lower. So you might not notice it in the morning, but throughout the day, I do think you'll notice it's a little less humid.

And you'll definitely notice that into Thursday. But the afternoon looks great, partly cloudy, and by the evening, very quiet with temperatures falling back into the 70s. So from start to finish a beautiful day, it'll be nice to not have to worry about storms or flooding, tornadoes, you know, any of the things that we dealt with today. Tomorrow's forecast looks stellar. I highly recommend getting outside. It is going to be nice, and I feel like we've needed this, this break from the rain that we're going to get all the way through the end of the week. So start making your plans now.

This is a look at Thursday. Thursday's just as nice as tomorrow, mid to upper 80s with sunshine and then, front of the end of the end of the end of the week. Friday, we will see highs near 90. Once again, high pressure taking control, and that's going to keep some sunshine in the forecast. Live look from our Pindo Sky Cam in downtown Raleigh, nice to see clear skies returning to the region after a day of severe weather.

You can see tipters and sky conditions staying very nice all the way through Saturday by Sunday. Watching for a chance of storms late in the day, we'll carry that unsettled weather into early next week with highs staying in the mid to upper 80s. Steve, back to you. Pretty amazing to see that. That microburst on radar while we were here on the air.

And now, as you predicted, as you saw that, there would potentially be damaged. And now we're seeing that indeed in North Raleigh. Cruz, thank you. All right, let's be honest here. Who hasn't woken up sometime in the middle of the night with a craving for something sweet? Well, it turns out it's not just us as humans, have a hankering for a late night treat, but also this guy right here, a big black bear. We have the video to prove it coming up.

And remember, you can always watch eyewitness news live on ABC 11. plus and wherever you stream. All right, we are back now with tonight's top trending stories in real news. And first, you got to see this. There is a bear with a real sweet tooth. It's a California black bear. The guy's going viral for breaking into a cabin to try to get his hands on a sweet treat. And police say 12 people were actually sleeping inside that cabin.

When the bear got in through a window, the bear helped himself to some cinnamon rolls and a pie they left out and even opened the refrigerator to get some butter for the cinnamon roll. And then he showed himself out. Thankfully, no one in the cabin was hurt, but the bear got exactly what he was after inside that place. The summer is a prime time, of course, it hit the beach, had catch some rays,

but for one pilot of a single-engine plane hitting the beach was kind of an unexpected ending to his flight. Yesterday, this small plane was forced to make an emergency landing along Huntington Beach, right there on the beach in Southern California outside Los Angeles. The small plane had just taken off when the pilot says things kind of went sideways. The engine quit on him. Thankfully, the local beach provided a soft and secure spot for that impromptu emergency landing.

And the eyewitnesses there on the beach said, hey, the guy did a great job right there on the edge of the Pacific Ocean landing, his single engine plane. All right, and while here on the East Coast, we've been having a pretty warm summer. The West Coast is celebrating a Jimothy summer. Okay, so a little background might be necessary about this guy, Jimpathy. Seattle is home to perhaps the most famous raccoon in the world. people gathered in one neighborhood there over the weekend to celebrate this guy named Jimithy. The raccoon has short spine syndrome. That's why he looks a little unusual. And viral videos have helped tell his story. In no time at all, the city has fallen in love with Jimothy, so much so

that two city council members read an official proclamation, designating 2026 as the summer of Jimothy. As you can see, the celebration also included Jimithy artwork, the competition, artists drew some paintings. People actually brought some stuffed animals of that. beloved raccoon. They're embracing Jimothy. You know, what's not to love about Jimothy? I guess. He looks a little different. Wishing them the best, Kate. Thanks very much. Our breaking news coverage of tonight's storm damage will continue for you tomorrow morning

here on eyewitness news. I'm glad you joined us tonight. And I hope to see you back here tomorrow night at 11. Good night. ABC 11 eyewitness news is sponsored by Capital Chevrolet. Together, let's drive. Shop Capital Chevrolet.com.