How severe weather in the Triangle is affecting college football at NC State, UNC, Duke
Severe thunderstorms moving through central North Carolina are impacting college football games on Saturday.
At 11:06 a.m., shortly after the game between Vanderbilt and Wake Forest kicked off at 11 a.m., game officials stopped the game and sent the teams to their locker rooms because lightning was detected within eight miles of Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium in Winston-Salem.
That game restarted at 1:06 p.m.
In Raleigh, the game between No. 10 Notre Dame and N.C. State at Carter-Finley Stadium was halted at 12:50 p.m. due to lightning in the area. The Irish held a 3-0 lead with 14:45 to play in the second quarter when the game was stopped and the stadium cleared.
The game resumed at 2:35 p.m.
It was the second time Carter-Finley Stadium operations were impacted by the weather.
The planned 10 a.m. gate opening for TowneBank Center seat holders and the 10:30 a.m. general gate openings were delayed due to lightning in the area, according to announcement N.C. State officials posted on social media. By 11 a.m., the situation had improved such that stadium officials were opening the gates.
The game kicked off as scheduled shortly after noon.
Heavy thunderstorms hit the Triangle 9 a.m., causing the National Weather Service to issue flood advisories for Wake and Durham counties through 12:30 p.m. A second round of storms hit 20 minutes later
The weather service issued a Flash Flood Warning for “west central Wake County” through 4:30 p.m. The coverage area includes Carter-Finley Stadium, with Raleigh, Cary, RDU International Airport, Morrisville, Research Triangle Park and Umstead State Park listed as areas that could be impacted.
In a social media post on Saturday morning, the NWS stated, “There is A LOT of lightning with these storms. You might want to delay those morning activities for a bit!”
NCAA guidelines dictate a 30-minute delay when lightning is detected within eight miles of the stadium. But that 30-minute clock restarts every time lightning occurs in the vicinity, which often extends delays.
The game between No. 10 Notre Dame and N.C. State is one of three ACC games scheduled to be played in the Triangle today. No. 17 North Carolina is playing Appalachian State at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill at 5:15 p.m., with No. 21 Duke hosting Lafayette at 6 p.m. at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham.
At 1:45 p.m., UNC officials announced on social media that the planned Tar Heel Town pregame event, scheduled to start at 2:15 p.m., was canceled due to severe weather. Kenan Stadium gates remained scheduled to open at 3:45 p.m.
A 60% chance of thunderstorms remains in the NWS forecast for Saturday afternoon and Saturday night.
This is a developing story and will be updated
