A pine tree estimated to be more than 100 years old came crashing through Katherine Loflin's Cary home on Sunday as severe weather tore through central North Carolina, leaving her with only minor scratches and a repair bill that could run as high as $100,000. Her dog, Remy, and cat, Owen, both survived the ordeal as well.
Loflin said she heard a loud crack after strong winds moved through her backyard, and at first she thought it was lightning, according to WRAL. Then things started falling around her. The tree landed in an area of the home where she often spends time with her pets, and she recalled seeing Owen walking down the stairs just moments before it fell.
Loflin escaped the collapse with only minor scratches, and she credited the home's construction with helping protect her life, the station reported. Now she faces a far more grinding challenge: cleanup and rebuilding, with the cost of repairs estimated between $50,000 and $100,000, according to WRAL.
Pets Took Priority Over the Damage
For Loflin, the damage to her house was secondary to the safety of her animals as she began sorting through the wreckage. She said her pets' safety mattered most to her as she faced the cleanup and rebuilding ahead, per the same WRAL account. She also said her home would not have felt like home again if she had to look at the damage every day.
The tree crash came amid a broader round of severe weather tied to the remnants of Hurricane Isaias, which had made landfall as a Category 2 hurricane in the Florida Panhandle on Friday before pushing inland, as noted by The Guardian. The storm's remnants brought damaging winds and tornadoes to parts of Wake County on Sunday, as reported by WRAL, battering the Cary area where Loflin lives.
Storms Battered the Triangle and Beyond
The destruction was not confined to Cary. Strong storms and possible tornadoes moved across central North Carolina and Fayetteville on Sunday, downing trees and damaging homes, buildings and power lines, according to ABC11. In Raleigh, one homeowner described sheltering with his dog as his own roof gave way, telling the station, “I literally grabbed the dog and closed that bathroom door.”
Severe weather swept through the Triangle on Sunday with multiple reports of tornadoes, overturned cars and damaged roofs, as reported by The News & Observer. In total, there were 15 tornado warnings issued across central North Carolina, a region covering 31 counties, and warnings for Wake, Durham and 17 other counties had expired by mid-afternoon.
About 3,000 power outages were reported statewide by 3 p.m., with the highest concentration in Cumberland County, the News & Observer reported. North Carolina's state emergency response team remained activated as the severe weather continued moving across the state, per ABC11's reporting. The National Weather Service said it would spend the following days surveying the damage to confirm whether any tornadoes actually touched down, and where.
Not the First Tree to Hit a Cary Home
Sunday's storm was far from the first time a falling tree has slammed into a home in Cary. In 2023, a massive tree fell on a Cary home in a cul-de-sac on Alicary Court near U.S. Highway 1 and SE Cary Parkway while two people were inside, according to WRAL's earlier reporting. Dry conditions are expected to return to the region from Monday through Saturday, offering residents a reprieve as they begin assessing the damage left behind.
