Hurricane Dorian makes landfall at Cape Hatteras, continues to drench eastern North Carolina

Hurricane Dorian raked the Carolina coast with howling, window-rattling winds and sideways rain Thursday into Friday morning, spinning off tornadoes and knocking out power to more than 200,000 homes and businesses.

As of 9 a.m. Friday, Dorian had weakened to a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph and made landfall at Cape Hatteras.

RELATED: More than 170,000 without power in North Carolina as Hurricane Dorian moves through

The storm will continue to pick up speed, moving off the coast. The storm dumped a lot of rain all across the state and even spawned 20 tornadoes in the Carolinas.

RADAR: See current location of rain from Hurricane Dorian

Doppler-estimated rainfall estimates for North Carolina so far are as follows:

• Johnston County – 4.4 inches
• Southern Wayne County — 5.6 inches
• Clinton — 7.2 inches
• Southern Wake County — 3.3 inches
• Northern Wake County — 1.1 inches
• Harnett County — 2.5 inches
• Greenville — 3 inches
• Wilmington — 8 inches

Two deaths in North Carolina have been blamed on Hurricane Dorian. Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday that an 85-year-old Columbus County man was the first storm-related death in North Carolina. Cooper said the man fell from a ladder as he was preparing his home for the storm. On Thursday, Pamlico County Sheriff Chris Davis said a man pulling his boat out of the water in Oriental had a heart attack and died. His identity was not released.

More than 1 million people were warned to leave in the Carolinas, and a round of evacuations was ordered in coastal Virginia as the storm drew closer.
Chief Meteorologist Chris Hohmann and Don “Big Weather” Schwenneker said Hurricane Dorian is following right along with the forecast.

“By tomorrow evening, it’s out to sea,” Hohmann said.

RELATED: 20 tornadoes reported in the Carolinas as Hurricane Dorian nears coast, one touches down at Emerald Isle

The National Hurricane Center’s projected track showed Dorian passing near or over North Carolina’s Outer Banks early Friday, lashing the thin line of islands that stick out from the U.S. coast like a boxer’s chin. Dorian was then expected to peel away from the shoreline.

“Hurricane Dorian is ready to unleash its fury on our state,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said in a Thursday news conference. “The storm has gained strength. Get to safety and stay there. Don’t let your guard down. Whether it comes to shore or not, the eye of the storm will be close enough to cause significant damage.”

Cooper said there were 68 shelters open with more than 2,200 evacuees in them. 527 North Carolina National Guard soldiers were activated. Many towns enforced curfews.

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