Charlotte North Carolina News

Hurricane Michael has strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. The storm is quickly making its way to the Florida panhandle before it is expected to weaken and track over the Carolinas Thursday, causing the first-ever tropical storm watch and warning for the area. Michael is expected to bring heavy wind and rain to the region early tomorrow morning into tomorrow afternoon. In the latest forecast from the…

Updated: 11:50 a.m. Gov. Roy Cooper has declared a state of emergency for North Carolina as Hurricane Michael approaches. The governor also activated 150 National Guard troops for emergency preparations and implored residents to be prepared for the coming storm.  “The last thing people cleaning up from Florence need right now is more wind and rain, but this storm is coming and we will be ready for it,” Cooper said. Michael is expected to hit the…

Updated: 1:55 p.m.  Hurricane Michael made landfall in Florida’s Mexico Beach a little after 1:40 p.m., according to the National Hurricane Center. Michael has strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane, hitting the coast with 155 miles-per-hour winds. Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 45 miles from the storm’s center, according to the Associated Press. Updated: 11:50 a.m. Gov. Roy Cooper has declared a state of emergency for North Carolina as Hurricane Michael approaches. The governor…

Updated: 6:15 p.m. Hurricane Michael has been downgraded to a Category 3 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 115 miles per hour as it charges northward through Georgia. The National Hurricane Center says the storm will likely move through the Charlotte region Thursday afternoon, bringing with it heavy rainfall and gusty winds. Graphs show 2 to 4 inches of rain for the Charlotte area, with central and northern parts of the state set to receive…

Hurricane Michael is now an “extremely dangerous” Category 4 storm, with 145 mph sustained winds as it heads through Florida into the southeastern United States. The storm is moving through the Gulf of Mexico at 13 mph and is expected to make landfall Wednesday afternoon on the Florida Panhandle or Big Bend area with “life-threatening storm surge, dangerous winds and heavy rainfall,” according to the National Hurricane Center. Impact from the storm will be felt…

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Michael’s leading edge careened onto northwest Florida’s white-sand beaches as a still-growing Category 4 hurricane Wednesday, lashing the coast with tropical storm-force winds and rain and pushing a storm surge that could cause catastrophic damage well inland once it makes landfall. The unexpected brute quickly sprang from a weekend tropical depression and grew to top winds of 145 mph (230 kph), the most powerful hurricane in recorded history for this stretch…

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, SC (FOX 46 WJZY) – Neighbors and emergency management in Chesterfield County are preparing for Hurricane Michael, and still cleaning up from Hurricane Florence. The storm is expected to drop 3-5 inches of rain on the area as of Tuesday night.  Chesterfield County Emergency Management tells Fox46 Charlotte they are not expecting to see as much rain that fell during Hurricane Florence, but they are worried about low-lying areas and already saturated tree roots.  “There…

FORT MILL, SC (FOX 46 WJZY) – It’s not every day you see Mr. Moneybags in downtown Fort Mill. “Folks come out here, take selfies, they have their family pictures made,” said Caroline Hasty, the founder of the Fort Mill Scarecrow Crawl Competition. A flair for the dramatic with nearly 100 scarecrows lining the streets in downtown Fort Mill. “The motivation behind the Scarecrow Crawl is to get folks out of their cars and walking…

CHARLOTTE, NC (FOX 46 WJZY) – NCDOT crews are working hard across the Carolinas to repair roads that were damaged by Hurricane Florence. In the Charlotte area, NCDOT officials say 13 roads remain closed. Seven of those closed roads are in Stanly County. The only driving seen on River Road in Stanfield is construction workers using heavy equipment. “This is a shortcut, so it has made a difference,” said neighbor, Wilda Yow. For about a month…

With another hurricane on the way, Charlotte’s arborist is concerned more of the city’s trees will fall. During Hurricane Florence, 549 fell into roads and were cleared by the city’s Tree Canopy Preservation Program. In a press conference Tuesday morning, Governor Roy Cooper said another hurricane could compound recent damage from Florence. “We have saturated ground which could exacerbate flash-flooding, and have weakened trees which could cause more trees to fall than normal,” Cooper said….

Cape Lookout National Seashore has posted a series of before and after photos, showing the lasting damage Hurricane Florence created when it sent storm surge flowing across the barrier islands. In one of the most telling comparisons, the upper part of the South Core Banks is seen covered with water, after Hurricane Florence over wash created three flowing “cuts” through the island north of Ramp 25. “Although we fully expect these three breeches or ‘cuts’…

Hurricane Michael is projected to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast at 1 p.m. Wed. and to be in North and South Carolina between Thursday and Friday morning. Michael has 110 miles per hour sustained winds. When it reaches the Carolinas, it’s expected to bring 3 to 5 inches of rain to the Charlotte region. Michael will also bring sustained winds of 10 to 20 miles per hour with gusts of 30 miles per hour. Gov….

Updated 5:20 p.m. Tuesday Michael has strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained wind speeds of 120 miles-per-hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. The hurricane is currently about 295 miles south of Panama City, Florida, but will likely make landfall in the panhandle by 1 p.m. Wednesday. Michael will move northeast into Georgia, likely arriving in South Carolina around 1 p.m. Thursday before it moves into North Carolina.    Graphs released by…

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina’s governor is taking hold of state lottery profits and sending $25 million to repair schools with immediate needs after damage caused by Hurricane Florence. Gov. Roy Cooper said Monday he’s acting to speed up repairs, with priority in eight counties hit the hardest. Cooper’s office says seven public school systems remain closed since last month’s storm, keeping nearly 90,000 students out of classrooms in more than 130 schools. The…