Charlotte, N.C.—A rush hour thunderstorm closed roads across the area at the height of the evening commute. Flash flooding backed up traffic on roads across the city. Independence Boulevard was a particular problem. The First Warn Storm Team said 3-5 inches fell in the area in just 3 hours.

The water bubbled up near Bojangles Coliseum. Vehicles were kept to a far lane. Truck driver Shawn Watson drove through the high water, and then noticed the temperature gauge on his vehicle rising. He was driving a Ford and hauling several Hummers. He said he jumped out just before the truck caught fire. “It was a mess,” Watson said, calling it a “lake.”

Hours later, on the inbound side of Independence, muddy residue from that river of water still blocked the right hand lane. It took a truck to haul it away.

Incidents were reported at the intersections of Independence and Sharon Amity Rd., as well as Independence and Albemarle Road. Our cameras found a car flooded beyond its tires on Wendover Road. The intersection of Oriole Ave. and Lexington Ave. at Dilworth was blocked by a police car. The water on Airport Center Drive near Billy Graham Parkway also closed the road. A viewer send us photographs of Eaglecrest Road where water blocked the street and flooded yards.

Witnesses tell us several cars had to be towed from the high water along Independence Boulevard. One man recalled that the same spot flooded in August. Charlotte’s storm water staff was not available to explain why, or to tell us if anything is proposed to fix the problem area.