Amid a weekend of dangerous weather in North Carolina, one of the most unexpected escape artists of the storm turned out to be a giant inflatable pumpkin. Strong winds from the remnants of Isaias reportedly ripped the oversized orange decoration loose from Phillips Farm in Cary, near Raleigh, on October 11, sending it rolling down a public road. Dashcam video shows the huge pumpkin barreling straight toward the camera vehicle on a curved, tree-lined road bordered by fences, while a bystander in a purple shirt runs in and grabs on, trying to stop it in its tracks. The pumpkin was eventually secured and returned home, and the clip has since gone viral as a rare funny moment from a very rough weather weekend.

The pumpkin's great escape came while central North Carolina was bracing for the leftovers of a serious storm. Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, on October 9 as a Category 2 hurricane before weakening into a post-tropical system, and its remnants triggered tornado warnings across the Raleigh area, a ground stop at Raleigh-Durham International Airport, and tornado watches across nearly 20 central North Carolina counties. Farther west, heavy rain caused flash flooding, water rescues, and landslides, particularly around Chimney Rock, a region still recovering from Hurricane Helene in 2024. Against that backdrop, the runaway pumpkin offered a lighthearted break, though the incident also shows how strong winds can turn even a harmless seasonal decoration into a road hazard. The video itself comes from social media, and details about the pumpkin's journey have not been independently confirmed.