Hurricane Florence drenches North Carolina

Sep 18, 2018 by Dorie Cox

Sept. 18, 11 a.m.

North Carolina and parts of South Carolina continue to face rain and flooding after Hurricane Florence as the post-tropical cyclone moves west-northwest of New York City. News reports attribute more than 30 deaths to the storm and about 500,000 homes and businesses are without power.

Waters on the Cape Fear River continue to rise today with an expected crest at 62 feet.

The floating docks are intact at Beaufort Municipal Docks, according to Manny Albright, one of dockmasters at the marina in Beaufort, North Carolina.

“We’re back in business,” he said by phone this morning [Sept. 18]. “But there’s lots of damage on older, private, fixed docks on the waterfront that runs about 2 miles to the east. Many of those docks are broken and torn up.”

The marina is without electricity and expect it to be restored in the next week, he said.

“We had three boats arrive from the [Intracoastal] Waterway, and they had no problems north of us. But we have no report between us and Wilmington,” he said. “All our employees are fine; some evacuated and some didn’t. We’re just sitting around with no power.”

Port City Marina had minimal damage, according to property security guard Scott Bloodworth. The marina is located about 24 miles from the Atlantic Ocean on the Northeast Cape Fear River in Wilmington, North Carolina.

“We’re good,,” Bloodworth said by phone from the property. “We had a little property damage. All the boats fared well. There were a few that left their sails up; those got shredded.”

He said the facility is waiting for electricity to be restored but surrounding businesses have power. The water level is up higher than normal on the marina’s floating docks, but Bloodworth does not expect it to overflow.

Click here for resources on Hurricane Florence recovery efforts in North Carolina.

Click here to see information on the path of Hurricane Florence.

Sept. 14, 8 a.m.

Wind and rain from Hurricane Florence began to hit the North Carolina coast early Friday morning and the eye of the storm is expected to make landfall before noon. Storm surge and flooding are being reported, as well as damage to structures. About 100 people are awaiting rescue due to high water in New Bern, North Carolina.

Expected rainfall could reach up to 40 inches in some parts of the storm area. Electric power is out for about 300,000 homes and businesses and nearly 12,000 people are housed in emergency shelters. No deaths have been reported.

For updates from The Weather Channel, click here.

Sept. 12, 12:00 p.m.

Hurricane Florence has retained strength and speed, but may travel more slowly with a turn toward the southwest, according to the National Hurricane Center’s Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch (TAFB). Wave heights to 83 feet were measured early this morning under the northeast quadrant of Hurricane Florence, according to a NHC_TAFB Twitter post this morning.

“These enormous waves are produced by being trapped along with very strong winds moving in the same direction the storm’s motion,” the post stated.

Tropical-storm-force winds are expected to hit land Thursday and major flooding is expected throughout North and South Carolina.

Click to follow National Hurricane Center’s Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch on Twitter.

Click to follow updates from The Weather channel.

Sept. 11, 2018  8:30 a.m.

Hurricane Florence continues to strengthen with sustained winds of 130 mph and gusts to 140 mph. Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued in parts of coastal areas of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Landfall is expected Thursday night or Friday morning around the Wilmington and Hatteras areas of North Carolina.

Alerts have been issued to the north and south of expected landfall areas for strong winds, rip currents and dangerous surf conditions along beaches.

NASA’s Suomi NPP satellite captured this image of Hurricane Florence on Sept. 10.

For updates on Hurricane Florence and other storms visit NOAA’s National Hurricane Center (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).

Sept. 10, 2018  4 p.m.

Hurricane Florence is currently a Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale and is expected to make landfall on the Atlantic coast of the United States around North Carolina and South Carolina on Thursday night. The storm will most likely bring storm surge, destructive winds and massive inland rainfall flooding. Florence is expected to continue to gain in intensity and reach winds of 150 mph by landfall.

Local officials have issued the first of mandatory evacuations for the Outer Banks, North Carolina.

Click for more from The Weather Channel.

Hurricane tracking chart by
NOAA

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About Dorie Cox

Dorie Cox is a writer with Triton News.

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