Charlotte North Carolina News

Meteorologist Brad Panovich of WCNC-TV talks to WFAE’s Marshall Terry during Morning Edition. Updated: 3 p.m. Tropical Storm Michael is moving northeast at about 23 mph, and the storm is on track exit the Carolinas and be on the Atlantic Ocean Thursday night. The National Weather Service says the storm is about 60 miles east-northeast of Charlotte. But Charlotte region is still seeing the effects of the storm through gusty winds and rainfall. Michael’s maximum…

Photo: NOAA  Photo: NOAA  An official with an emergency management agency says Tropical Storm Michael is responsible for a child’s death in Georgia.  News outlets report Seminole County Emergency Management Agency Director Travis Brooks says someone called 911 as the storm passed through the area and reported the death. WMAZ-TV quotes Brooks as saying a tree fell onto a home Wednesday afternoon and killed an 11-year-old girl. Authorities have not released her identity.  LINK: Michael weakening…

Tropical Storm Michael is just hours from crossing into South Carolina on a track toward the Charlotte region, where it is expected to cause “flooding rain,” heavy winds and possible tornadoes. Some communities in Georgia had 5 inches of rain and more than 350,000 people were without power, reported the Weather Channel Thursday morning. Parts of Mecklenburg County could also see as much as 5 inches of rain today and wind gusts over 30 mph,…

PORT ST. JOE, Fla. (FOX 13) – Two storm chasers got trapped in storm surge and had to abandon their vehicle while live streaming Hurricane Michael storm coverage Wednesday, underscoring the dangers of the massive storm that made landfall in the Florida panhandle. RELATED: Hurricane Michael makes landfall in Mexico Beach as Category 4 Brett Adair and a passenger were live streaming while driving down the roads in Port St. Joe near Mexico Beach as conditions…

Duke Energy expects that Hurricane Michael could cause up to half a million power outages in North and South Carolina, the utility announced Wednesday as the storm made landfall and began its overland approach. Between 300,000 and 500,000 power outages could occur in the Carolinas “based on the storm’s current forecasted track,” the utility said in a news release. The outage projection is “based on the company’s storm modeling tool, which analyzes variables including storm…

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will close Thursday as the area braces for high winds and flooding from Hurricane Michael, the district announced Wednesday evening. “A strong storm system moving into the area tonight is predicted by experts to cause dangerously high winds, flash floods, unsafe travel conditions and possible long transportation delays for families, students and staff,” a district statement said. “The district recognizes the impact of school closings on families in the community and made this…

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper recommended $1.5 billion be set aside for Hurricane Florence relief and preparations for future weather-related events at a press conference today in Raleigh. Cooper says the preliminary estimate of damage from Florence is $13 billion. His budget recommendations include, at the high end, $200 million for a Farmer Recovery Reinvestment Program and would also include $88 million for flood-mapping projects and flood mitigation studies as well as other planning efforts….

For the first time in recent memory, and maybe the first time ever, the N.C. State Fair will delay opening day because of bad weather. The fair was set to open at 3 p.m. Thursday, but as Hurricane Michael came ashore in Florida on Wednesday as a Category 4 storm, state and local officials, working with vendors and ride operators, decided to delay the fair’s opening until Friday. Fair manager Kent Yelverton said at a…

With Hurricane Michael tracking toward the Carolinas, it’s important to start thinking about your hurricane plan and kit. Along with flashlights, batteries, a first-aid kit and other emergency supplies, you should have enough nonperishable food and water for yourself, your family and your pets. Make sure you keep special dietary needs and allergies into consideration. Here’s what groceries you should be shopping for (or making sure you already have at home), according to the U.S….

CHARLOTTE, NC (AP) – Hurricane Michael will weaken once its core hits land and stops drawing strength from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. But forecasters say it won’t dissipate quickly. In fact, Michael is expected to whip parts of Alabama and Georgia with hurricane-force winds as it travels north. The National Hurricane Center expects Michael to hold tropical storm strength through Thursday as it crosses the Carolinas. Forecasters say Michael should re-emerge…

Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency Wednesday morning in 66 North Carolina counties as Hurricane Michael neared Florida as a Category 4 storm. The governor called it “a dreadful storm.” “North Carolina is staring down another powerful hurricane less than a month (after) Hurricane Florence battered our state,” Cooper said at a news conference. The storm’s track would take it into the Carolinas, dropping as much as 7 inches of rain in some…

Flight cancellations are growing at Charlotte’s airport ahead of the tropical storm-force winds and heavy rain Hurricane Michael is expected to deliver Wednesday and Thursday. The flight-tracking website FlightAware.com shows 36 cancellations Wednesday at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, as of 9:30 a.m. That’s up from 25 on Tuesday and 16 Monday. The site reported eight flight delays Wednesday. PSA airlines, a regional carrier for American Airlines, accounted for 24 of the 36 cancellations. Most were…

This story was updated at 3 p.m. Hurricane Michael is now an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, with 155 mph sustained winds as the eyewall moved ashore at 1 p.m. Eastern time near Panama City, Florida, on a predicted path into North Carolina. Gov. Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency across North Carolina Wednesday morning, referring to Hurricane Michael as “a dreadful storm,” in a press release. The hurricane’s biggest impact in the state…