Flash flooding and heavy rain are expected throughout Wake and Franklin counties through Friday, and conditions are also in place for the possible development of tornadoes during thunderstorms associated with Tropical Cyclone Debby.

“Heavy rain and the threat of flash flooding will continue throughout central North Carolina through this evening,” the National Weather Service said Thursday. “Isolated tornadoes will be possible during the afternoon and evening, particularly along and east of the Triangle. Frequent wind gusts of 25-30 mph are expected, with isolated stronger wind gusts of 40-50 mph possible within the heavier rain bands.”

A warning was issued early Thursday morning indicating an apparent tornado in the Wedell area, but local authorities had no official confirmation that a tornado had actually touched down anywhere in the county.

The Wake County Sheriff’s Office has not received a report of a tornado in the Wendell area.

Additionally, Wendell Police Chief John Slaughter said that as of 12:30 p.m. Thursday, city police had no reports of a tornado in Wendell, nor any reports of major damage or flooding from the storm.

Kendall Whitley, who lives in Wendell, said he heard a loud wind noise and saw branches being blown back and forth by the wind, but no rotation was possible.

Rotating winds are the hallmark of a tornado.

Whitley said the sound of the wind made an impression on him.

“The wind started howling,” Whitley said. “It was unbelievable how quickly it came up. It came out of nowhere.”

He said he had not heard of any damage from the storm or of any injuries.

“The most amazing thing was that no one was hurt,” Whitley said.

A brief power outage in the community caused a temporary disruption to the traffic light on Wendell Boulevard at the intersection of State Employees Credit Union and Sheetz Supermarket.