Education

Durham Public Schools cancel classes for students Wednesday following heavy storms

A downed tree blocks Cole Mill Road following strong storms in Durham, N.C. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.
A downed tree blocks Cole Mill Road following strong storms in Durham, N.C. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. kmckeown@newsobserver.com

Durham Public Schools will be closed for students on Wednesday after powerful storms knocked out power and downed trees in the Triangle Tuesday afternoon.

The school district said staff will operate on a two-hour delay at year-round, specialty high schools and the central services office.

The district cited hazardous road conditions and the widespread power outages.

As of 10 p.m., over 66,000 Duke Energy customers remained without power. In Orange County, there were 8,500 customers without power while Wake County had over 3,400.

Durham’s year-round schools, which started July 17, are: Holt Elementary, Pearsontown Elementary, Easley Elementary, Rogers Herr Middle and the School of Creative Studies.

Specialty schools began Aug. 3 and include: J.D. Clement Early College, City of Medicine Academy, Durham School of Technology and Middle College High School at Durham Tech.

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A person blocks Cole Mill Road due to a downed tree following strong storms in Durham, N.C. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.
A person blocks Cole Mill Road due to a downed tree following strong storms in Durham, N.C. on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023. Kaitlin McKeown kmckeown@newsobserver.com

This story was originally published August 15, 2023 at 10:00 PM.

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Jessica Banov
The News & Observer
Jessica Banov is a news editor and audience growth specialist at The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun. She was part of the team from The N&O and The Charlotte Observer that was named a 2025 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Breaking News for coverage of Hurricane Helene. She also serves as The N&O’s intern program coordinator. 
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