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GREENSBORO — The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay swept through the Triad on Wednesday, causing flooding, property damage, power outages and traffic hassles.

Tornado sightings were reported in High Point, Jamestown, Randleman and Climax, but there were no confirmed touchdowns in Guilford County, said Emergency Services Director Alan Perdue.

The worst conditions occurred in the morning. The National Weather Service reported Piedmont Triad International Airport got nearly 4 inches of rain between midnight and 11 a.m. Wednesday. The heaviest downpour occurred between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m., when the airport measured 1.42 inches of rain. By 10 p.m., the day’s total was nearly 5 inches.

More rain could be on the way today. The forecast calls for a 50 percent chance during the day and a 20 percent chance tonight as Fay clears the area.

Among the highlights of Fay’s day in the Triad:

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Public safety agencies reported no injuries related to storms or flooding, despite evacuating many homes and responding to several accidents and one explosion.

As the water rose Wednesday morning, it extinguished the pilot light on a gas water heater in the basement of a home at 1200 Water St., according to the Greensboro Fire Department.

The accumulated gas found another heat source in the basement, causing an explosion and fire that left the house uninhabitable, said battalion Chief David Lindsay. The home’s occupants were not at home at the time, Lindsay said.

At 3:43 p.m., authorities searched the south fork of Buffalo Creek for more than three hours after reports that a man was seen hanging from a bridge along Martin Luther King Boulevard near the on-ramp of U.S. 29/Business 40-85.

Swift water rescue and fire officials conducted a thorough search under the bridge and downstream but didn’t find anyone. The creek was estimated at 10 to 15 feet deep at the time of the search.

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Greensboro police directed traffic around flooded intersections throughout the city and helped about 10 motorists whose vehicles stalled in floodwaters, said Lt. Dennis Willoughby.

Traffic was diverted around a busy section of Bryan Boulevard, where a car stalled in deep water under the Holden Road overpass.

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Even the ducks wanted no part of all the brown, muddy water encroaching on Village Park, a community of 242 mobile homes at 724 Creek Ridge Road.

Thirty-six ducks retreated across the street, gathering in a large puddle beneath the eaves of homesite No. 206, much to the delight of the small child looking out the window.

Across the street, things were far from delightful.

South Buffalo Creek jumped its banks and threatened 24 mobile homes. As of noon Wednesday, water was beneath the skirting at 13 of the homes at Village Park.

“I’m pretty busy right now,” said property manager Renee Barbee, a cell phone in her right hand. “I’ve got sandbags coming, and we’re trying to head this off.”

When the sand arrived — three full pallets on the back of a Lowe’s flatbed trailer — Ronald Cox and his team began building a barrier in the backyard of No. 154, the mobile home in the most danger.

Dulce Trejo, who lives at the home with her husband and three children, said the family planned to spend the night at her brother’s home.

Resident Ike Cates walked down to the water’s edge to look. “My place is back there a block or so, and it’s safe,’’ he said. “I just came down because I was worried about these people. I knew it rained hard last night, but I didn’t know it could get this bad.”

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The tornado scare sent many children and teachers into the duck-and-cover position.

Students at Southeast middle and high schools were sent into hallways and other designated safe areas about 1 p.m.

“It was chaotic,” said Victoria Pacheco, a Southeast High junior. “People started freaking out.”

Pacheco said students were sent to the hallways twice during the afternoon for about

30 minutes each time.

Elementary school buses were held for about an hour. Bus drivers that had left the school already were advised to pull over in a safe location, according to Guilford County Schools officials.

Middle and high school students were dismissed on schedule, but some bus routes were delayed because the same buses transported elementary students.

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Grade school students weren’t the only bus riders dealing with the storm.

Weather conditions delayed every Greensboro Transit Authority route by 20 minutes during the afternoon. Three buses were evacuated because of a tornado watch.

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Perhaps the worst of the flooding occurred around North Buffalo Creek in the Latham Park neighborhood.

“This is a historical spot for flooding,” said Tim Elmore, the city’s stormwater maintenance supervisor. “Saying it’s the worst, well, that’s sort of relative. ... Anyone who had to evacuate probably could say it was the worst at their place.”

Several streets in the neighborhood were flooded, including Latham Road in front of Sarah Isbister’s home.

“When I got up this morning, it was pretty high. It was covering the fire hydrants,” said Isbister, a nurse who works the 3-11 p.m. shift at Moses Cone hospital. “The fire department and police were here, and I asked them if I could get a ride to work if the water hadn’t gone down because I couldn’t get out of my driveway.”

By 2 p.m., the water had receded in front of Isbister’s home.

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Early Wednesday, nearly 3,200 Duke Energy customers in Guilford County had lost power. That number quickly dropped, and only 16 outages were reported by Wednesday evening.

All city streets were open by 3:30 p.m.

Staff writers Sonja Elmquist, J. Brian Ewing, John Newsom and Ryan Seals contributed to this report.

Contact Jeff Mills at 373-7024 or jeff.mills@news-record.com