The ninth named tropical storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season has formed across the central Caribbean Sea, and is forecast to turn into a hurricane before hitting Florida. If it does, it will be the first major hurricane to impact the state since 2018. Tropical Storm Ian was located about 270 miles south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, as of 11 a.m. Saturday and moving west at about 15 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center….

NASA is skipping next week’s launch attempt of its new moon rocket because of a tropical storm that’s expected to become a major hurricane. It’s the third delay in the past month for the lunar-orbiting test flight featuring mannequins but no astronauts, a follow-up to NASA’s Apollo moon-landing program of a half-century ago. Hydrogen fuel leaks and other technical issues caused the previous scrubs. Currently churning in the Caribbean, Tropical Storm Ian is expected to…

6 minutes ago RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — With Hurricane Fiona gone, the focus turns south to Tropical Storm Ian, which is threatening to make landfall in the United States as a strong hurricane. Tropical Storm Ian is was located about 300 miiles southeast of Kingston, Jamaica. The storm had maximum sustained winds at 45 miles per hour and was moving west at 15 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. Ian still has…

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — A new federal audit shows just how woefully delayed the response has been for recent hurricane victims in North Carolina. Troubleshooter Diane Wilson was at a hearing earlier this month where lawmakers grilled officials with ReBuild NC, which is the state-run program that uses federal dollars to rebuild low-income storm-impacted communities throughout North Carolina. The audit looked at how North Carolina spent the millions of dollars in disaster relief granted to…

RALEIGH, N.C. — A new federal audit questions how the state agreed to contracts worth millions of dollars intended to help with hurricane relief. Much of the criticism from state lawmakers recent years has been North Carolina is too slow in getting federal funds out the door to help rebuild hurricane damaged homes. This new audit instead calls out the state for a lack of documentation for money it did spend. The audit from the…

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Fiona remains a powerful Category 3 hurricane over the western Atlantic and is expected to pick up speed and retain major hurricane-force wind intensity as it continues to the northeast Friday. The system will bring large swells to the North Carolina coast and Outer Banks, some areas may see waves as high as 10-12 feet. The rip current risk will also remain high until Saturday. The swell increase should start subsiding…

BERMUDA — Fiona, downgraded to a Category 3 hurricane, pounded Bermuda with heavy rains and winds early Friday as it swept by the island on a route forecast to have it approaching northeastern Canada late in the day as a still-powerful storm. Authorities in Bermuda opened shelters and closed schools and offices ahead of Fiona. Premier David Burt sent a tweet urging residents to “take care of yourself and your family. Let’s all remember to…