Raleigh North Carolina News

By The Associated Press RALEIGH, N.C. — RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Sebastian Aho scored 3:40 into overtime to give the Carolina Hurricanes a 1-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Aho knocked a rebound of a Martin Necas shot out of midair past New Jersey goalie Vitek Vanecek for the only goal of the game. “It was a good play by (Necas) to cut through the middle and get a shot off,”…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a La Niña watch on Thursday. We remain in an El Niño period for now, but it is weakening. We are expected to briefly go into an El Niño neutral period during the spring and then La Niña could take over during the June-July-August time frame. What to look for out of La Niña. It’s very common to have a quick transition from an El Niño to a…

A handful of super powerful tropical storms in the last decade and the possibility of more in the future has led some experts to propose another category of major hurricanes: Category 6. Studies have shown that the strongest tropical storms are getting more intense because of climate change. So, the traditional five-category Saffir-Simpson scale, developed in 1971, may not show the true power of the most muscular storms, two climate scientists suggest in a Monday…

LOS ANGELES (AP) — One of the wettest storms in Southern California history unleashed more than 300 mudslides in the Los Angeles area after dumping more than half of the city’s seasonal rainfall in just two days, and officials warned Tuesday that the threat hadn’t passed yet. The storm continued to pose new hazards Tuesday, with the National Weather Service issuing a rare tornado warning for inland parts of San Diego County until 12:15 p.m.,…

A handful of super powerful tropical storms in the last decade and the prospect of more to come has a couple of experts proposing a new category of whopper hurricanes: Category 6. Studies have shown that the strongest tropical storms are getting more intense because of climate change. So the traditional five-category Saffir-Simpson scale, developed more than 50 years ago, may not show the true power of the most muscular storms, two climate scientists suggest…

Heavy downpours over parts of Louisiana and Texas this week have caused significant flooding, meteorologists and officials said, and more rain is forecast to soak the region through the end of the week. As of Thursday morning, Brenham, Texas, between Austin and Houston, had received more than 12 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service. Other Texas cities had recorded rainfall totals of 4 to 11 inches. Conditions were so bad Wednesday in…

As the Triangle faces a third day of severe weather this week, staff at Duke Energy says they are in ‘reset mode’ after storms just a few days ago left thousands of people without power. While some locals are cleaning up debris and fallen trees, Friday brings more potential for damaging winds, isolated tornadoes and localized flooding. WRAL spoke with Jeff Brooks from Duke Energy, who says it’s unusual to see multiple level 3 risk…

The North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival is closing several days early after Tuesday night’s severe storms caused damage to a festival centerpiece and other lanterns. The festival, which was scheduled to end Sunday, Jan. 14, is shut to the public, ending more than five days early. The festival venue itself, Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre, was not damaged in Tuesday’s storms, but a spokesperson said one of the festival’s largest lanterns — the dragon boat on…

The North Carolina Chinese Lantern Festival is closing several days early after Tuesday night’s severe storms caused damage to a festival centerpiece and other lanterns. The festival, which was scheduled to end Sunday, Jan. 14, is shut to the public, ending more than five days early. The festival venue itself, Cary’s Koka Booth Amphitheatre, was not damaged in Tuesday’s storms, but a spokesperson said one of the festival’s largest lanterns — the dragon boat on…

The National Weather Service has confirmed an EF-1 tornado in Catawba County, where one person died from severe weather and four others were critically injured. According to Catawba County Communications, the person died around 1 p.m. along Evening Drive, located south of Old Catawba Road. On Wednesday, the National Weather Service confirmed an EF-1 tornado in the Claremont community. Catawba County Emergency Management announced Tuesday it would open up a temporary shelter after about 30…

Seven residents were evacuated from a Chapel Hill apartment complex after severe storms caused the apartments to flood. Residents were knee-deep in floodwaters Tuesday night at the Camelot Village apartment complex off Estes Drive. This is an area that frequently sees flooding because of a creek in the middle of the complex. WRAL News got video from inside from a woman who lives in a ground floor apartment that showed how bad the flooding was…

On TV and online, our team of meteorologists often reference a threat for severe weather on a scale of 1 through 5 with 1 being the lowest and 5 being the highest. Spring is the top severe weather season in NC, but storms can come at any time, so it is important you understand what these threat categories mean to better assess your risk and prepare ahead of bad weather. Tornado Climatology Severe weather is…

Tuesday is a WRAL Weather Alert Day due to the threat of heavy rainfall, damaging winds, flooding and isolated tornadoes. Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency for North Carolina due to the possible dangers of Tuesday’s storms. The Triangle will be under a Level 2 risk for severe weather, and multiple counties southeast of Raleigh, including Cumberland and Harnett, are under a Level 3 risk for severe weather due to a line of…