Raleigh North Carolina News

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Hurricane Francine barreled early Wednesday toward Louisiana and is expected to make landfall in coming hours as forecasters raised threats of potentially deadly storm surge, widespread flooding and destructive winds on the northern U.S. Gulf coast. Francine drew fuel from exceedingly warm Gulf of Mexico waters to jump from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday night. The National Hurricane Center said Francine might even reach Category…

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Francine became a hurricane Tuesday evening as it barreled toward south Louisiana, strengthening over extremely warm Gulf waters as those in possible harm’s way rushed to complete storm preparations, filling sandbags, buying gas and stocking up on necessities for an expected landfall in the coming day. Residents, especially in south Louisiana, have a 24-hour window to “batten down all the hatches,” Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry warned at midday while Francine…

By Brian Murphy, WRAL The stadium home of the Carolina Hurricanes and NC State men’s basketball won’t be known as PNC Arena any longer. A new video game offers a clue as to what the arena could be called moving forward. The signage on the outside of the arena was being taken down Monday, and the Centennial Authority — which owns the arena — has scheduled a special meeting Thursday to approve a contract with…

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Torrential downpours hit North Africa’s normally arid mountains and deserts over the weekend, causing flooding that killed more than a dozen people in Morocco and Algeria and destroyed homes and critical infrastructure. In Morocco, officials said the two days of storms surpassed historic averages, in some cases exceeding the annual average rainfall. The downpours affected some of the regions that experienced a deadly earthquake one year ago. Meteorologists had predicted that…

HIGHLAND, Calif. (AP) — An out-of-control wildfire in the foothills of a national forest east of Los Angeles threatened ten of thousands of buildings and forced hundreds of residents to flee Sunday amid a days-long heat wave of triple-digit temperatures. The so-called Line Fire was burning along the edge of the San Bernardino National Forest, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) east of Los Angeles. As of Sunday morning, the blaze had charred about 27 square…

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — At least 14 people have died and 176 others injured in Vietnam after Typhoon Yagi slammed the country’s north, state media said Sunday, as officials warned of heavy downpours despite its waning power. Described by Vietnamese officials as one of the most powerful typhoons to hit the region over the last decade, Yagi left more than 3 million people without electricity in northern Vietnam. It also damaged vital agricultural land, nearly…

In Fayetteville, part of Ramsey Street is closed again Tuesday near Wall Street due to high water. The N.C. Department of Transportation said the road is expected to reopen at 5 p.m. Flooding closes major road in Fayetteville Monday The road was closed on Monday. You can see how deep the water was under the bridge. Flooding closes major road in Fayetteville Monday The road has been blocked off and signs have been posted along…

Lingering rain from Sunday’s storms is causing more problems Monday. Severe storms moved through central North Carolina on Sunday, causing flooded roads and crashes across Wake County and in Raleigh. In Fayetteville, part of Ramsey Street is closed near Wall Street due to high water. The road has been blocked off and signs have been posted along the street. Flooding closes major road in Fayetteville Monday Flooding also poses a threat in Johnston County, which…

Lingering rain from Sunday’s storms is causing more problems Monday. Severe storms moved through central North Carolina on Sunday, causing flooded roads and crashes across Wake County and in Raleigh. In Fayetteville, part of Ramsey Street is closed near Wall Street due to high water. Flooding closes major road in Fayetteville Monday Flooding poses a threat Monday, with Johnston County under a flood warning until Tuesday night.

Nearly three weeks after Tropical Storm Debby barreled through North Carolina, one Raleigh nonprofit still feels its effects. Note in the Pocket provides clothing to students in Wake and Durham counties, with people donating clothes while volunteers sort the items to get the clothing out the door. Debby disrupted those services as it moved through the state, and the organization said they’re still struggling. According to the organization, the storm knocked out power, damaged a…

Severe storm moved through central North Carolina on Sunday. Organizers of the African American Cultural Festival delayed the final day of festivities as storms popped up in Wake County. The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning this afternoon for both northern and southern Wake County, saying intense rain and strong wind gusts would be possible. Elsewhere in Wake County, The North Carolina Courage were forced to postpone the return celebration of five players…

Springfield Middle School in Wilson County has announced that it will soon receive temporary classrooms following extensive damage caused by an EF-3 tornado. In a special meeting on Thursday, the Wilson County Board of Education approved a lease agreement with Mobile Modular for the temporary units. Each unit will contain eight classrooms and will be fully furnished. The mobile units are expected to arrive on Sept. 30 and should be fully set up by mid-October. …

A lightning strike caused a fire on Friday afternoon that damaged three homes in a Raleigh neighborhood, a Raleigh Fire Department spokesperson says. Around 75 firefighters and multiple fire trucks responded to the scene on Silver View Lane, where smoke and damage were visible from one of the homes. “I heard the loudest crack of thunder to my left and I knew something got struck,” Liz Perkins, a neighbor said. “Then about five minutes later,…

A lightning strike caused a fire on Friday afternoon that damaged three homes in a Raleigh neighborhood, a Raleigh Fire Department spokesperson says. Several fire trucks and firefighters are on the scene at Silver View Lane, where smoke and damage can be seen from one of the homes. A fire department spokesperson said no one was injured, but six people are displaced due to the fire. Several fire trucks and firefighters are on the scene…

Students at Springfield Middle School are back in the classroom weeks after an EF-3 tornado damaged the school. Many parents are glad to know their students can return to Springfield Middle School after much uncertainty. “I am just happy it played out like we envisioned it,” Jessica Lewis said. Lewis’ son began 7th grade Monday at the middle school. She’s been watching the progress at the school for several weeks, calling it a true community…