Month: February 2019

The Carolina Hurricanes are enjoying the best of times, but they might have to try to continue that with a revamped lineup. A couple of injuries early in the week leave questions about how the Hurricanes will look when they take on the visiting St. Louis Blues on Friday night in Raleigh, N.C. While the Hurricanes put together a recent special stretch, the Blues can claim to be on an even better run with 13…

Floodwaters that turned two Northern California communities into islands were expected to begin receding Thursday as a rain-engorged river finally peaked after swamping thousands of homes, businesses and other buildings. The Russian River in the wine country north of San Francisco crested at more than 46 feet (14 meters) Wednesday night, Sonoma County officials said. The river frequently floods in rainy weather but it hadn’t reached that level for 25 years and wasn’t expected to…

The Latest on winter storms slamming western U.S. states (all times local): 9:30 p.m. A Northern California river that surged over its banks after days of rain has flooded some 2,000 homes, businesses and other buildings. Sonoma County spokeswoman Briana Khan says the Russian River has submerged areas of Guerneville and neighboring Monte Rio, which are described as “islands” because of flooded roads. Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to…

Floods isolate 2 California towns; storm dumps snow in West By HAVEN DALEY and OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ Associated Press February 27, 2019 07:22 PM This is what the ‘island’ of Guerneville, California, looks like Guerneville, CA, along the Russian River, is accessible only by boat after the rain-swollen river overflowed on February 27, 2019. By × Guerneville, CA, along the Russian River, is accessible only by boat after the rain-swollen river overflowed on February 27,…

Dougie Hamilton had two goals and an assist and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Los Angeles Kings 6-1 Tuesday night. Teuvo Teravainen added a goal and three assists, Micheal Ferland had a goal and an assist and Sebastian Aho and Jaccob Slavin also scored for the Hurricanes. Jordan Staal finished with three assists. The surging Hurricanes won their third straight and finished their February schedule with a 10-3 record, moving into playoff position. Carolina solidified…

By Gilbert Baez, WRAL reporter Lumberton, N.C. — It’s been nearly two-and-a-half years since Hurricane Matthew carved its way through North Carolina, and there are homeowners who are still trying to get back on their feet from that storm. Some residents are getting a hand up with grant money from Rebuild North Carolina, which aims to restore life into the homeowners property. One of those people is Priscilla Jones, who now takes pride while walking into…

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Tom Dundon told ABC11 that the Carolina Hurricanes have not officially been given the go-ahead to host a hockey game inside Carter-Finley Stadium but there’s good momentum. “We don’t have it yet. We are in the running,” Dundon said. Talk about a game inside the NC State football facility surfaced Tuesday morning when a picture was posted on Twitter with cones in the shape of an ice rink on the stadium…

By WXII Grandfather Mountain, North Carolina — A wind speed record was set this week at Grandfather Mountain after the area experienced hurricane-force winds, WXII reported. The park’s weather recording station at the Mile High Swinging Bridge registered a three-second gust of 124 mph at around midnight Monday, breaking the previous record of 121.3 mph, recorded on Feb. 13. In addition, at around 2 a.m., the station detected a gust of 122.3 mph. In all,…

RALEIGH (WTVD) — They may be, in Don Cherry’s words, a “bunch of jerks,” but they’re a bunch of entertaining jerks.The “bunch of jerks” comments coming post-game by the Hockey Night in Canada host after the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Edmonton Oilers 3-1 on Feb. 15. The team broke out, what’s now a traditional, victory celebration in front of fans at PNC Arena. But team captain Justin Williams doesn’t see his team as jerks or…

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The NHL trade deadline has come and gone and Hurricanes General Manager Don Waddell showed his hand by not showing anyone the door. Waddell shopped soon-to-be free agent Michael Ferland up until the 3 p.m. cutoff, ultimately deciding it’s better for the Left Wing to keep his Carolina sweater. For now at least. “If we are going to trade Michael, we’d have to replace that player. The rental players that were…

A new state commission is tasked with figuring out who should pay for California’s increasingly devastating and costly wildfires. The five-member Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery met for the first time Monday. It was created last year by lawmakers to consider how to fairly distribute costs of deadly wildfires among utilities and their customers. California suffered its worst and costliest wildfire seasons in 2017 and 2018. Pacific Gas & Electric Corp. has filed…

The NHL trade deadline went blowing past the Carolina Hurricanes yet again Monday, as they swayed in the breeze without being moved, not the first time they were spectators while the rest of the league went typically bonkers. These are different circumstances from recent years, when the Hurricanes were unquestioned sellers and the previous regime often chose not to sell. This time around, they neither a borrower nor a lender were, and there are two…

By Jessica Patrick, WRAL digital journalist Chapel Hill, N.C. — A neighborhood in Chatham County that is prone to flooding should start preparing again after days of rain, according to county officials. Residents of Jeremiah Drive, located south of Chapel Hill near the Williams community and Jordan Lake, received a statement from Chatham County Emergency Management Sunday morning. “The county has been notified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that, due to ongoing rain,…

By Jessica Patrick, WRAL digital journalist Chapel Hill, N.C. — A neighborhood in Chatham County that is prone to flooding should make preparations now after days of rain, according to county officials. Residents of Jeremiah Drive, located south of Chapel Hill near the Williams community and Jordan Lake, received a statement from Chatham County Emergency Management Sunday morning. “The county has been notified by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that, due to ongoing rain,…

French authorities say firefighters are trying to contain a wildfire that spread overnight near a small village on the Mediterranean island of Corsica. Authorities in Haute-Corse, the prefecture covering the northern part of the island, said strong winds fed 20 wildfires that started in several places on Saturday. More than 1,500 acres were burnt near the town of Calenzana but no damage was caused to houses and no serious injuries have been reported. The prefecture…

A tornado smashed into a commercial district in the small Mississippi city of Columbus, shattering businesses as severe storms raked the South on a weekend of drenching rains and a rising flood threat. The tornado that shattered businesses in the east Mississippi city on Saturday afternoon was confirmed on radar, said meteorologist Anna Wolverton with the National Weather Service in Jackson. She told The Associated Press that experts on Sunday would be headed Sunday to…

The Latest on severe weather in the South (all times local): 8:10 p.m. Bystanders say a tornado has destroyed or heavily damaged some businesses in a commercial district in Columbus, Mississippi, toppling trees and blacking out power in the area. Lee Lawrence, who has been selling used cars for decades in the city, says four buildings on his car sales lot have been destroyed, trees have fallen across vehicles and the windows of many cars…

Curtis McElhinney made 14 of his 24 saves in the third period for his 10th career shutout, and the Carolina Hurricanes beat the Dallas Stars 3-0 on Saturday. Lucas Wallmark and Justin Faulk scored early in the first two periods to support McElhinney’s second shutout of the season and the Hurricanes’ fourth in 10 games. Jordan Martinook added an empty-netter with 2:31 to play as Carolina won for the fifth time in six games. Ben…

The Latest on severe weather in the South (all times local): 6 p.m. Authorities say a tornado has touched down in the city of Columbus, Mississippi. Meteorologist Anna Wolverton with the National Weather Service told The Associated Press that a tornado hit about 5 p.m. CST Saaturday and was confirmed on radar. Sign Up and Save Get six months of free digital access to The News & Observer #ReadLocal There were no immediate reports of…

Homes, highways, parks and bridges throughout the South have been flooded or rendered out of commission, as the toll of days of drenching rains swelled waterways and pooled over saturated lands amid the threat of severe storms. Transportation officials say Interstate 40 near the border of Tennessee and North Carolina has been closed due to a rockslide, one of the dozens of roads and highways shut down throughout the South region Saturday. Tennessee Department of…

Justin Williams had two goals and an assist and the Carolina Hurricanes rallied for a 4-3 victory over the Florida Panthers on Thursday night. Nino Niederreiter had a goal and an assist, and Justin Faulk also scored a goal Florida, which has won seven of its last nine games. Peter Mrazek made 27 saves. Aleksander Barkov, Evgenii Dadonov and Jonathan Huberdeau each had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, whose three-game winning streak…

Authorities in Northern California have named another victim of a 2018 wildfire that devastated a town and killed 85. The Butte County Sheriff’s Office says 93-year-old Dorothy Lee-Herrera of Paradise died in the Camp Fire. Authorities officially identified Lee-Herrera Thursday, though her family had previously said she died in her home along with her husband. The office has now identified 74 of those who died in the country’s deadliest wildfire in a century. Sign Up…

Torrential rains lashed several cities in Pakistan on Thursday, triggering flash floods and leaving at least 26 dead across the country, many swept away by the waters or killed when their roofs collapsed before dawn, authorities said. The provincial Disaster Management Authority said 14 people, including children, were killed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan. Flash floods submerged villages near the southwestern town of Lasbella, in Baluchistan province, killing three people there and affecting…

Eastern North Carolina communities still struggling to recover from recent hurricanes have banded together to accelerate financial help and to take steps to prevent debilitating flooding in the next major storm. On Wednesday, the Eastern N.C. Disaster Recovery and Resiliency Alliance drove that point home in a news conference at the state Legislative Building in Raleigh, where they also met with individual lawmakers. State Rep. Holly Grange, a Republican from Wilmington, steered the event, which…