Severe storms knock out power, close roads across Guilford County

More than 18,000 Guilford County customers were without power after severe thunderstorms rolled across the Piedmont Triad, turning a routine Monday evening into a scramble for drivers, homeowners and utility crews. The Duke Energy map showed 18,773 outages in Guilford County, part of a regional total of more than 50,000 across the Triad.

In Greensboro, one of the hardest-hit corridors was Yanceyville Street, where all lanes were closed between Textile Street and Revolution Mill Drive after a downed tree and power lines blocked the roadway. That shutdown cut through a busy stretch near Revolution Mill and forced commuters to reroute as cleanup crews worked around live wires and debris. A storm-tracking entry also logged trees down at Gatewood Avenue and East Wendover Avenue, underscoring how widely the damage spread across the city.

The storm did not stop at Greensboro’s city limits. Alamance County, Forsyth County, Rockingham County and Stokes County also reported thousands of customers affected, while viewer photos showed storm debris in Jamestown and Summerfield. Strong winds brought down trees across the Triad and caused scattered outages that disrupted evening routines, closed storefronts that depend on steady foot traffic and left many households waiting on power before food spoiled and work schedules were thrown off.

Duke Energy said crews were working into the evening to restore service, and the utility has said wind and rain together can bring trees onto power lines and trigger outages. Jeff Brooks, a Duke Energy spokesperson, has also said about a quarter inch of ice can start bringing limbs down, a reminder of how quickly Triad storms can turn dangerous when heavy weather meets already vulnerable trees.

Guilford County’s severe-weather guidance tells residents how to report downed trees blocking roadways and other non-emergency storm problems. The county’s Guilford Emergency Alert, Notification, and Information System, or GEANI, sends urgent public safety messages by phone, text and email, a tool that becomes critical when roads are blocked, neighborhoods lose power and cleanup is still under way.