Charlotte North Carolina News

Garden City business not taking a chance with Hurricane Florence Sep 12, 2018 Georgie Martin has owned the Garden City Pavilion Arcade and Gigi’s Grill for 40 years but was wiped out by Hurricane Hugo. She’s not taking a chance with Hurricane Florence. By

Nonprofit organizations around Charlotte are looking for extra help as Hurricane Florence barrels toward the Carolina coast. The Red Cross has plans to open five emergency shelters around Mecklenburg County, and local homeless shelters are anticipating high demand as the storm approaches. If you’re looking for opportunities to help out, here are a few: Red Cross Emergency Shelters The American Red Cross is looking for volunteers to help staff emergency shelters in Mecklenburg County and…

Hurricane Florence, which initially was expected to be a late-week and weekend visitor in Charlotte, now is expected to dampen the early part of next week. And it’s potentially bringing more rain and a greater risk of flooding. The National Hurricane Center now expects the Charlotte area to get 6 to 12 inches of precipitation from the storm in the coming days. Isolated areas in the higher elevations of both Carolinas could get as much…

Four shelters opened Wednesday at Charlotte high schools and another will open Thursday morning as Hurricane Florence moves toward the coast of the Carolinas. The shelters are primarily meant for coastal evacuees, although Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management deputy director Robert Graham said Charlotte-area residents who haven’t found shelter with friends or family can come to the high school shelters, too. “We’re not going to turn anybody away,” he said. All five shelters — at East Mecklenburg,…

Take it from the folks who blow up homes for a living, there are some common-sense steps to take now that will help prepare yourself and your home for the approaching storm. Hurricane Florence is expected to strike land and begin lumbering westward sometime Saturday morning, bringing a combination of torrential rains and gale-force winds to the Charlotte area. Duke Energy estimates up to 3 million of its customers in the Carolinas could be without…

For North Carolina native Brock Long, Hurricane Florence is personal. Long, who grew up in Newton, was 14 in 1989 the night Hurricane Hugo swept in, toppling trees and damaging buildings. “Hurricane Hugo . . . came right over my house,” he told CBS News Tuesday. “We were out of power for 10 days. I was out of school I remember for two weeks. This storm is setting up to be very similar to that…

Want an up-close look at Hurricane Florence? Watch the video below to see live footage from an old Coast Guard light tower, 32 miles off the coast of southeastern North Carolina. If current storm projections are correct, that won’t be far from where Florence makes landfall. [embedded content] One camera, mounted on the tower’s helipad about 100 feet above the water, should capture long views, along with the hurricane-force winds whipping the American flag. Shortly…

N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper continues to stress that residents be prepared and not take Hurricane Florence lightly as it appears likely to impact the Carolinas in the days ahead. “My message is clear: Disaster is at the doorstep and is coming in,” Cooper said during a Wednesday morning press conference. “This may be a marathon — not a sprint.” Cooper encouraged people at the coast to leave now, while there is still time to do…

This story was updated on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. Nearly 15,000 N.C. electric cooperative customers were without power Thursday afternoon along the North Carolina coast as the effects of Hurricane Florence hit the Carolinas. Carteret-Craven Electric Cooperative reported nearly 13,000 members without power around 4 p.m., according to the co-ops outage map. About 9,400 of those outages were in Carteret County, which includes Morehead City. Tideland Electric Membership Corporation reported another 1,400 members affected, about…

Florence drops to Cat 1, but still ‘life-threatening’ Thursday, 11 p.m.: Florence was downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane but was delivering “life-threatening storm surge” along the NC coast, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. Florence had 90 mph winds, and the “threat of freshwater flooding will increase” in the days ahead, according to the advisory. The storm was about 60 miles east of Wilmington. Islamic Center opens doors to evacuees Thursday, 9:24…

This story was updated at 11:40 a.m. Thursday. With Hurricane Florence approaching, the first wave of flight cancellations later this week at Charlotte Douglas International Airport started Wednesday, but the airport remains open. Staff at Charlotte Douglas will move to 12-hour shifts and activate the airport’s irregular operations plan starting Friday evening, and assist any stranded passengers with needed supplies. Airport workers were securing equipment and sweeping building roofs and other areas for debris ahead…

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is foreboding in his assessment Hurricane Florence. “This storm is a monster. It’s big and vicious. It’s an extremely dangerous, life-threatening, historic hurricane.” The path of Hurricane Florence has changed since Cooper made that statement Tuesday. The National Hurricane Center says it’s now expected to hit Wilmington and then veer west, taking it south of Charlotte. WCNC-TV meteorologist Brad Panovich told WFAE Morning Edition host Marshall Terry that the shift…

This story was last updated at 11:30 p.m. Thursday ▪ Charlotte could see nearly 11 inches of rain, enough to cause flooding. Forecasters say the bulk of the rain will arrive starting late Friday, and go through the weekend. ▪ The region has a better than 60 percent chance of seeing tropical storm-force winds (39 mph or higher), according to the National Hurricane Center. ▪ Areas to the south and east of Charlotte could see…

Updated 2 p.m. on Sept. 13 Universities around North Carolina have been making preparations ahead of Hurricane Florence, which has been upgraded to a Category 4 major hurricane with maximum possible wind speeds of up to 130 miles per hour.   As officials around the state have urged residents to be prepared, universities have done the same. East Carolina University canceled classes after noon on Tuesday and announced a mandatory evacuation notice for students. Residence…

WFAE’s Mark Rumsey spoke on Tuesday afternoon with WCNC-TV Chief Meteorologist Brad Panovich about the projected path of Hurricane Florence, and how the storm might impact the Charlotte region. Updated: 6:30 a.m. The path of Hurricane Florence now appears to be south of Charlotte. WCNC-TV meteorologist Brad Panovich says that likely means more rain and increased threats of tornados. Meanwhile, Charlotte officials and hotels are busy preparing for the storm and the people who will…