Raleigh North Carolina News

By COLLEEN BARRY, Associated Press VENICE, Italy — After Venice suffered the second-worst flood in its history in November 2019, it was inundated with four more exceptional tides within six weeks, shocking Venetians and triggering fears about the worsening impact of climate change. The repeated invasion of brackish lagoon water into St. Mark’s Basilica this summer is a quiet reminder that the threat hasn’t receded. “I can only say that in August, a month when…

PIEDMONT, Calif. — Meg Adler illustrates as a hobby. When a friend approached her about commissioning a drawing of a home that burned down in a wildfire, she got the idea to make herself available to anyone interested in commemorating their lost homes, free of charge. Alex Hencken reached out to Meg about getting a drawing of her family’s 60-year-old South Lake Tahoe cabin that burned down in the Caldor Fire. Alex wanted to surprise…

By ANIRUDDHA GHOSAL, AP Science Writer NEW DELHI — Officials predicted more rain as the death toll from floods and landslides in the southern Indian state of Kerala rose to 28 on Monday. Since the ferocious downpours began last week, swollen rivers have decimated bridges, and vehicles and homes have been swept away. Several dams were nearing full capacity. K.J. Ramesh, one of India’s top meteorologists and the former chief of the weather agency, said…

By CHALIDA EKVITTHAYAVECHNUKUL, Associated Press BANGKOK — Heavy rains in central and northeastern Thailand caused new flooding on Monday, with authorities forced to release water into an already swollen river after a reservoir reached full capacity, and others facing the same possibility. Authorities in the central province of Suphan Buri said flood warnings were in effect for communities along the Tha Chin River after water was released into it from the Krasiao reservoir. More than…

By Brandon Miller and Judson Jones, CNN Winter weather, ongoing drought conditions and even the remainder of hurricane season will see impacts from a recent cooling of sea surface temperatures in the Pacific. La Niña conditions — the opposite phase of El Niño — have emerged in the tropical Pacific Ocean over the past month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center said Thursday. La Niña typically brings conditions that are wetter and cooler than…

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — The Canes are back and ready to tear up the ice at PNC for a sold-out crowd. Last year, the Carolina Hurricanes began the season with an empty arena and a team ravaged by COVID-19. By March, easing capacity limits allowed some fans back into the arena, and by the playoffs in May, 12,000 fans took their seats. Thursday’s sold-out game could feel bizarre to those who haven’t fought a crowd…

By Cory Dinkel, WRAL mulitplatform producer Raleigh, N.C. — The Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday announced PNC Arena’s policies for fans attending the team’s season opener on Thursday night. The Hurricanes open the regular season in a sold out game against the New York Islanders at PNC Arena at 7 p.m. on Thursday. Because of the North Carolina State Fair opening on the same day, fans are advised to arrive early and carpool if possible. Lots…

By The Associated Press MANILA, Philippines — A tropical storm in the Philippines has left dead at least 19 people, disaster response officials said Thursday. Philippine authorities say they are still investigating a further 11 deaths that may have been caused by the tropical storm Kompasu, which triggered landslides and flash floods as it barreled over the northern tip of the Asia-Pacific islands on Monday. Another 14 people have been reported missing in the Philippines….

By The Associated Press MEXICO CITY — Hurricane Pamela made landfall on Mexico’s Pacific coast just north of Mazatlan Wednesday, bringing high winds and rain to the port city. Pamela regained hurricane strength just before it hit the coast 40 miles (65 kms) north of Mazatlan, which also serves as a resort for Mexican tourists. The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Pamela had maximum winds of about 75 mph (120 kph) at landfall, though it…

By Zach Maloch, WRAL meteorologist At first look, we knew the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season would be active, but we didn’t know it would try to compete with the most active season on record set just one year ago. So far, the Atlantic hurricane season has seen 20 named storms — seven becoming hurricanes and four becoming major hurricanes. Of the seven hurricanes, the first five formed at near-record pace, matching 1966, 1995, 1996, 2004,…

By The Associated Press BAGUIO, Philippines — A tropical storm set off landslides and flash floods as it barreled over the tip of the northern Philippines, leaving at least 11 people dead and seven missing, officials said Tuesday. More than 6,500 villagers were evacuated from homes in several towns and cities swamped by floods and battered by pounding rains and wind that toppled trees and knocked down power. Tropical Storm Kompasu was last tracked over…

By REBECCA SANTANA, Associated Press LAFITTE, La. — Hurricane Ida swept through Louisiana with furious winds that ripped roofs off buildings and storm surge so powerful it moved homes. What it wrought on the living it also wrought on the dead, moving vaults and caskets and adding another layer of trauma for families and communities recovering from the powerful storm. “Once you bury a relative, you expect that to be the permanent resting place,” said…

By The Associated Press BEIJING — A bus fell into a river in northern China on Monday, leaving at least two people dead and 12 others missing after flooding from heavy rains destroyed homes and covered farmland. Video posted online showed people on top of an almost submerged bus in a rushing river flowing over a nearby bridge outside the city of Shijiazhuang, about 265 kilometers (165 miles) southwest of Beijing. Authorities in Hebei province…

By The Associated Press MEXICO CITY — Tropical Storm Pamela formed off Mexico’s Pacific coast Sunday and was forecast to strengthen into a hurricane before hitting shore somewhere near the port of Mazatlan at midweek. The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Pamela’s center was about 505 miles (810 kilometers) south of Mazatlan late Sunday and was moving west-northwest at about 12 miles per hour (19 kph). The storm had maximum winds of about 50 miles…

By Michelle Mackonochie, WRAL anchor/reporter Princeton, N.C. — While much of central North Carolina saw rain on Saturday, one area in particular is notorious for flooding. Princeton residents said flooding is all too common for the town, and after Saturday’s rain it left a mess, again. “We get water so bad sometimes we can’t even leave the yard,” said Terry Fraser. “When we get rain, we rain a lot … it’s a swimming pool every…

By Heather Leah, WRAL multiplatform producer Raleigh, N.C. — Raleigh police were reportedly assisting with a water rescue near an apartment complex after an early-morning downpour on Saturday. The WRAL Stormtracker captured video from Brook Hill Townhomes on Dana Drive in Raleigh, close to where the rescue was taking place. Rescue crews could be seen preparing inflatable boats to use in the flooded roadway and parking lot. Video and photos sent by Taha and Ali…

By Bryan Mims, WRAL reporter Princeville, N.C. — Princeville, once called Freedom Hill, became imprisoned by the wrath of a river. This town, the first in America founded by freed enslaved people, became a place to escape. Because in October 2016, the deluge came to Princeville, forcing Jimmy Hilliard out of his house for two months. “I had to replace everything and that was my second time doing that,” Hilliard said. The first time was…

By Bryan Mims, WRAL reporter Five years ago on Friday, Hurricane Matthew unleashed its fury on North Carolina. The storm killed 25 people in the state and caused more than a billion dollars in damage in one of the costliest disasters the state has endured. Swollen rivers inundated homes and businesses across eastern North Carolina. In communities like Goldsboro and Grays Creek, the rebuilding may be done, but memories are still fresh. Sounds such as…

By JAY REEVES, Associated Press PELHAM, Ala. — Terrified drivers climbed out of swamped cars and muddy floodwater flowed through neighborhoods after a stalled weather front drenched Alabama for hours, leaving entire communities under water Thursday and killing at least four people, with still more storms possible. Dozens of people had to be rescued Wednesday night in central Alabama, where the National Weather Service said as much as 13 inches (33 centimeters) of rain fell,…

By WLOS Black Mountain, N.C. — While $2.2 million in FEMA funding has been approved in Western North Carolina, a local animal rescue said its application for financial assistance was denied. Full Moon Farm Wolfdog Sanctuary is a rescue organization for wolfdogs, currently housing more than 30 dogs. It sits on 17 acres of land in Black Mountain and rescues “abused and refused” wolf hybrids that cannot be placed into homes for the remainder of…

A water main break sends tons of water gushing onto Roxboro Street in Durham. The source of the break is located on Roxboro Street near Denfield Street. Drivers headed south into Durham on Duke Street will have to remain on that road for a bit longer instead of merging left onto Roxboro Street. The water has been gushing onto the street since around 4 a.m. Crews are on the scene trying to shut off the…

In the past, hurricane hunters have flown into the storms’ eyewall to not only collect data, but also offer a glimpse at one of the earth’s most destructive weather phenomena. But what about the inside of a hurricane, and at sea level? As luck would have it, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, has released footage from the inside of Hurricane Sam, the Category 4 storm barreling across the Atlantic, through a lens…

By The Associated Press LJUBLJANA, Slovenia — Very heavy rainfall has caused flash floods in Slovenia’s capital Ljubljana that interrupted a theatre show, surged inside homes, hospitals and other buildings, and forced hundreds of interventions by emergency crews, authorities said Thursday. The sudden storm caused the floods overnight after huge quantities of rain fell within a short period of time, officials said. Slovenia’s environmental authorities described the rain as a “once in two centuries event.”…

By The Associated Press MIAMI — Beachgoers along the east coast of the United States should beware of life-threatening surf and rip currents this weekend as Hurricane Sam turns northward, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday. Forecasters expect the Category 4 hurricane to remain at sea, but with top winds of 130 mph (215 kph), it’s already sending dangerous ocean swells to islands hundreds of miles (kilometers) away. “Right now we’re not forecasting it to…

The tropics are quite active as September draws to a close, but at this time none of the disturbances pose an imminent threat to the United States. A bevy of disturbances are churning away in the Atlantic. The strongest of which is Hurricane Sam, which has reached Category 4 status. Fortunately, Sam is not expected to make it to the United States. Instead it looks to turn north and stay out to sea. Although, the…

By OMER FAROOQ, Associated Press HYDERABAD, India — A cyclone flooded parts of India’s eastern coast with heavy rains and uprooted thousands of trees and power poles, knocking out electricity, before weakening to a deep depression Monday. Heavy rains lashed the town of Kalingapatnam in Andhra Pradesh state on Sunday, swamping roads and marooning hundreds of villages, local official Shrikesh Lathkar said. One fisherman was missing and another was injured when their boat was hit…

By The New York Times, New York Times Hurricane Sam strengthened into a Category 3 storm as it moved west across the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said Saturday. The National Hurricane Center said the storm was “small but dangerous” and was forecast to become a Category 4 hurricane by Sunday. “Additional strengthening is expected over the next day or so,” the center said. The hurricane was just under 1,100 miles east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands…

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Hurricane Sam has formed in the Atlantic Ocean and it will rapidly intensify in the coming days. Sam is located about 1,500 miles east of the Leeward Islands. It has maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour and is moving west at 15 mph. Over the weekend, Sam is forecast to slow down and get stronger. It will likely be a major hurricane by Saturday. Strengthening will continue into next…

By Zach Maloch, WRAL meteorologist Hurricane Sam formed Friday morning and is forecast to become a major hurricane by 8 a.m. Saturday. At 5 a.m., Sam was a Cat. 1 hurricane moving west at 15 mph with maximum sustained winds at 75 mph. “Sam will continue to intensify,” explained WRAL meteorologist Zach Maloch. According to Maloch, many models show a turn to the north by later next week, but some models keep Sam a little…

RALEIGH (WTVD) — The key piece of equipment at Thursday’s practice for the Hurricanes? A name tag. Carolina has a bunch of new players, making this year’s training camp vital. Of the twenty on the opening night roster, almost half will be new faces. Captain Jordan Staal isn’t worried about them fitting in. “I feel like a lot of the new guys came in quite early so we’re getting to know them quickly,” he said….

By Hannah Gard, CNN Weather (CNN) — This year’s busy tropical season continues as more activity ramps up in the Atlantic. Tropical Depression Seventeen intensified into Tropical Storm Rose Sunday afternoon, about 370 miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands, says the National Hurricane Center. The other active storm currently in the Atlantic basin is Tropical Storm Peter, which is the 16th storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. Peter also strengthened into a storm Sunday…

By The New York Times, New York Times Tropical Storm Peter formed in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Caribbean on Sunday, forecasters said, announcing the 16th named storm of the 2021 season. As of 9 a.m. Eastern on Sunday, the storm was about 470 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands and expected to pass “well north of the Lesser Antilles,” according to the National Hurricane Center. The center said that rainfall around the…

Tropical Storm Odette formed east of the Outer Banks on Monday is is racing northeast. Odette is expected to lose tropical characteristics Saturday afternoon or tonight as it moves to the northeast. First Alert Meteorologist Steve Stewart says there will be increased surf and the threat for rip currents will occur from North Carolina through Maine and farther north into Atlantic Canada through early next week.Odette will remain offshore of North America and begin to…

By The Associated Press THREE RIVERS, Calif. — Cooler weather on Friday helped crews trying to keep California wildfires away from a grove of gigantic ancient sequoias, including the world’s largest tree, the base of which had been wrapped in a fire-resistant material in case the flames reached it. Unlike raging wildfires that have burned vast swaths of the drought-stricken U.S. West this summer, the blazes in Sequoia National Park were not explosive. Flames were…

By The Associated Press MIAMI — Tropical Storm Odette formed off the mid-Atlantic coast Friday and is expected to weaken Saturday night as it approaches eastern Canada. Odette was traveling to the northeast at 15 mph (24 kph) Friday evening and was located about 225 miles (365 kph) southeast of Cape May, New Jersey, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph). Swells generated by…

By NOAH BERGER and JOHN ANTCZAK, Associated Press THREE RIVERS, Calif. — Multiple forest fires on Thursday were threatening groves of gigantic sequoias in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains that are home to some of the world’s largest trees. Flames would likely reach the famous Giant Forest in Sequoia National Park, where two fires have been burning since lightning ignited them on Sept. 9, according to a briefing for fire crews. It comes after a wildfire…

By SAM METZ, Associated Press/Report for America CARSON CITY, Nev. — When a wildfire crested the mountains near North America’s largest alpine lake, embers and ash that zipped across a smoky sky pierced Lake Tahoe’s clear blue waters. The evacuation order for thousands to flee their homes has been lifted, but those who returned have found black stripes of ash building up on the shoreline — a reminder that success fighting the Caldor Fire won’t…

SPRING LAKE, N.C. (WTVD) — When Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina on Sept. 14, 2018, it was only the beginning of the destruction the storm would cause throughout the state. In the days and weeks that followed, flooding damaged an estimated 74,000 buildings throughout the state and led more than 140,000 residents to apply for disaster assistance, according to the final National Hurricane Center report. Three years later, flood victims still vividly remember…

We’ve already had 14 named storms, the average for an entire Atlantic hurricane season, even though there are still 77 days left. Hurricane Nicholas made landfall in Texas early Tuesday morning as the eighth landfalling storm for the United States. WRAL meteorologist Aimee Wilmoth said, out of the 14 storms, five were hurricanes and three were major hurricanes. We are approaching the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 2021 forecast for the Atlantic season, which predicted…

By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press HOUSTON — Tropical Storm Nicholas slowed to a crawl over the Houston area Tuesday after making landfall earlier as a hurricane, knocking out power to a half-million homes and businesses and dumping more than a foot (30.5 centimeters) of rain along the same area swamped by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Nicholas could potentially stall over storm-battered Louisiana and could bring life-threatening floods across the Deep South over the coming…

HOUSTON — Hurricane Nicholas made landfall along the Texas coast on Tuesday, bringing the threat of up to 20 inches of rainfall to parts of the Gulf Coast, including the same area hit by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and storm-battered Louisiana. Nicholas touched down on the eastern part of the Matagorda Peninsula, about 10 miles (17 kilometers) west southwest of Sargent Beach, Texas, with maximum winds of 75 mph (120 kph), according to the National…

MIAMI — Nicholas has strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane as it approaches Texas. The storm is likely to strike the same area hit by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and storm-battered Louisiana. Although the system is expected to generate only a fraction as much rain as Harvey, nearly all of the state’s coastline was under a tropical storm warning that included potential flash floods and urban flooding. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the state has…

By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press HOUSTON — Tropical Storm Nicholas gathered strength Monday and threatened to blow ashore in Texas as a hurricane that could bring up to 20 inches of rain to parts of the Gulf Coast, including the same area hit by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and storm-battered Louisiana. Nearly all of the state’s coastline was under a tropical storm warning that included potential flash floods and urban flooding. Texas Gov. Greg…

By ARITZ PARRA, Associated Press MADRID — Firefighting crews near southern Spain’s Costa del Sol were hoping for much-needed rainfall Monday to help them extinguish a major wildfire that has ravaged 7,700 hectares (19,000 acres) in five days and forced the evacuations of 2,600 people. Authorities are describing the blaze in Sierra Bermeja, a mountain range in Malaga province, as an extreme “mega-fire” brought on by climate change — a catastrophic event that kill, blacken…

MIAMI — Tropical Storm Nicholas was moving up the Gulf Coast on Monday, threatening to bring heavy rain and floods to coastal areas of Texas, Mexico and storm-battered Louisiana. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Nicholas was strengthening, churning up top winds of 60 mph (95 kph). It was traveling north-northwest at 14 mph (22 kph) on a forecast track to pass near the South Texas coast later Monday, then move onshore…

By The Associated Press MIAMI — Tropical Storm Nicholas headed toward the Texas coast Sunday night, threatening to bring heavy rain and floods to coastal areas of Texas, Mexico and storm-battered Louisiana. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said a hurricane watch was issued for the central portion of the Texas coast with much of the state’s coastline now under a tropical storm warning. Nicholas is expected to approach the middle Texas coast…

MIAMI — Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday that Tropical Storm Nicholas has formed in the Gulf of Mexico. Tropical storm warnings were issued for coastal Texas and the northeast coast of Mexico. Nicholas is expected to produce storm total rainfall of 5 to 10 inches 13 to 25 centimeters), with isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches, across portions of coastal Texas into southwest Louisiana on Sunday through midweek. Over the…

A disturbance in the Bay of Campeche officially became a named storm on Sunday morning. Tropical Storm Nicholas is near Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, and has potential to bring flooding and rain to Mexico and Texas. According to the National Hurricane Center, Nicholas will produce heavy rain across portions of southern Mexico, Texas and Louisiana. The heavy rain will continue to threaten those coastal areas through the middle of the upcoming…