Raleigh North Carolina News

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…

By The Associated Press ROME — A tornado on a small Italian island in the Mediterranean Friday evening swept up several cars, killing two people and injuring several others, firefighters said. In a tweet, the firefighters said the twister struck on Pantelleria, which is south of Sicily, shortly before 7 p.m. (1700 GMT). “Utility poles bent over, roofs damaged and trees knocked down,” the firefighters said. The largely arid island is popular with vacationers. The…

By The Associated Press MADRID — A major wildfire in southeast Spain prevailed over firefighting efforts by 38 water-dropping aircraft on Friday and tore through an area of hilly woodland for a second day, with one official describing it as “a hungry monster.” The Andalusia region’s agency in charge of firefighting efforts, Infoca, ordered most crews working on the uneven terrain to withdraw late on Friday, leaving the work to aircraft dropping water. The agency…

The active tropics are evidence of the high point of hurricane season in the Atlantic. Show Transcript SHE WAS NOT FOUND FOR 10 HOURS. >> SO HEARTBREAKING. >>> WE ARE AT THE PEAK OF HURRICANE SEASON AND WHEN WE CHECK IN ON THE TROPICS, IT CERTAINLY SUPPORTS THE CASE. METEOROLOGIST ELIZABETH GARDNER HAS A TROPICAL UPDATE. >> IT IS BUSY RIGHT NOW BUT YESTERDAY WAS ALL ABOUT MINDY. MINDY WAS FEEDING THE MOISTURE IN AND…

By GERARDO CARRILLO and MARCO UGARTE, Associated Press TULA, Mexico — Two days after flooding claimed at least 14 lives north of Mexico’s capital, the streets of Tula remained submerged Thursday as full reservoirs upstream continued releasing more water. Mexican authorities say heavy rains in recent days in central Mexico filled the area’s reservoirs to their capacity forcing water releases that only added to woes downstream in places like Tula. Residents who could reach their…

By Rosalia Fodera, WRAL reporter Wake Forest, N.C. — One local fire department flew 20 hours in three days to help people in Louisiana after Hurricane Ida. Wake Forest fire crews answered the call for help hundreds of miles away after a devastating storm that left a trail of devastation from the deep south to the northeast. Firefighters know the call for help can come from places far and wide. In this case, the need…

Charlotte, N.C. — The Federal Bureau of Investigation is helping with the search for a man wanted in the murder of a Hurricane Ida evacuee in Charlotte and the murder of another man in Nashville. Malek Anthony Moore, 29, is wanted in the murder of Gabryelle Allnut in Charlotte’s NoDa community, according to NBC affiliate WCNC. Allnut was found unresponsive in a Charlotte art studio on Sept. 5 after traveling to the city to escape…

By The Associated Press MIAMI — A swath of the Florida Panhandle was under a tropical storm warning after Tropical Storm Mindy made landfall Wednesday night. The storm touched down over St. Vincent Island, about 10 miles (15 km) west southwest of Apalachicola, according to the National Hurricane Center. Mindy could cause as much as 6 inches (15 centimeters) of rainfall across the Florida Panhandle and portions of southern Georgia and South Carolina through Thursday…

By The Associated Press MEXICO CITY — Torrential rains in central Mexico suddenly flooded a hospital early Tuesday, killing 16 patients, possibly due to the loss of oxygen equipment as the power went out, the national Social Security Institute said. A video posted on the agency’s social media feed said that about 40 other patients survived as waters rose suddenly in downtown Tula and flooded the public hospital around 6 a.m. Video recorded inside the…

By WRAL Severe Weather Center Wrightsville Beach, N.C. — While Hurricane Larry isn’t expected to affect North Carolina directly, the system is causing a dangerous rip current risk along our coast. Steering currents will help keep Larry away from the U.S., but North Carolina’s coast experienced some rip currents or large ocean swells over Labor Day weekend, and several more days of dangerous conditions are expected. Fourteen rip current-related rescues were made Saturday at Wrightsville…