Author: WeatherPreppers

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Fiona is now a major Category 4 hurricane as it pulls north away from Turks and Caicos and Bahamas, according to the National Hurricane Center. It will bring with it a moderate rip current risk for the much of the North Carolina coast on Wednesday. Conditions should improve in those area on Wednesday with a break where the storm will strengthen before passing west of Bermuda with rain and strong winds…

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Fiona strengthened into a Category 4 storm early Wednesday as it lashed the Turks and Caicos Islands and is forecast to squeeze past Bermuda later this week. The storm was blamed for causing at least four direct deaths in its march through the Caribbean, where it unleashed torrential rain in Puerto Rico, leaving a majority without power or water as hundreds of thousands of people scraped mud out of…

SMITHFIELD, N.C. (WTVD) — When Hurricane Fiona first made landfall in Puerto Rico on Saturday, Cristhian Espinosa had concerns. The storm system pounded the island with rain and flooding knocking out power and washing away homes. “Puerto Rico never recovered from Maria,” said Espinosa. “Fiona was just rain and it was instantly raining for 20 to 30 hours. People lost cars. People almost drowning because of the landslides. Homes were lost because of landslides. Lot…

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Hurricane Fiona has killed at least five people across the Caribbean, cut power and water service for most of Puerto Rico’s 3.1 million residents and left more than 1 million without running water in the Dominican Republic.  The images of the storm’s devastating impact brought back memories of hurricanes Florence and Matthew for residents of Cumberland County still rebuilding and recovering. William Bullock has lived in his home, in a flood risk…

SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO — Hurricane Fiona raked the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday as a Category 3 storm after devastating Puerto Rico. Hurricane conditions were slamming Grand Turk, the small British territory’s capital island, on Tuesday morning after the government imposed a curfew and urged people to flee flood-prone areas. The storm was centered just 10 miles (15 kilometers) from the island, with hurricane-force winds extending up to 30 miles (45 kilometers) from…

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Hurricane Fiona barreled toward the Turks and Caicos Islands on Tuesday as a Category 3 storm, prompting the government to impose a curfew. Forecasters said Fiona was expected to pass near Grand Turk, the British territory’s capital island, on Tuesday morning. “Storms are unpredictable,” Premier Washington Misick said in a statement from London, where he was attending the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. “You must therefore take every precaution to…

6 minutes ago RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Fiona is now a category 3 hurricane, according to the National Hurricane Center. That could bring rough seas and elevated rip currents to the North Carolina coast. The eye of the hurricane made landfall along the coast of Dominican Republic near Boca de Yuma at 3:30 a.m. local time as a category 1, but as of the 2 a.m. update has surged into a category 3. The center…