Governor Pat McCrory has declared a state of emergency in all 100 North Carolina counties in preparation for predicted severe flooding.
Advertisement
McCrory says Search and Rescue Teams are standing by, and more state and federal agencies will assist with Emergency Operations throughout the weekend – including National Guard Soldiers, State Troopers, and Department of Transportation crews.
The storm picked up steam as it barreled over warm ocean waters of the Bahamas. The center expected the storm to continue to grow, potentially developing sustained winds of 140 miles per hour. It also gives the governor additional authority to respond to trouble.
Hyde County officials have ordered an evacuation of Ocracoke Island on North Carolina’s Outer Banks as Hurricane Joaquin approaches. This will have a large impact on the amount of rain that will fall across the area, so storm total rainfall amounts are still very uncertain.
McCrory said the state could see possible “deadly flooding” due to the rain that has already fallen across the state and the rain that is expected as Hurricane Joaquin inches closer towards the coast.
However, there is still “considerable uncertainty as to what degree the upper low and Joaquin will interact”, reads the NWS alert.
Don Campbell, Guilford County emergency management director, said the weather service told him that a flash flood Tuesday dumped 2.75 inches in High Point over 60 minutes.
Screen grab from Ray’s Weather at 3:41 p.m., Thursday, October 1.
The seven other home games involving CMS schools remain scheduled 7 p.m. Friday.
Hurricane Joaquin, now a unsafe Category Four storm, is still highly unpredictable. He made the announcement Thursday.
Still, the interaction of the low pressure system in the western Carolinas and the circulation around Joaquin would bring a strong flow of wet air off the Atlantic into the Carolinas, forecasters said. There’s also a small craft advisory and a flood watch through the weekend. Trees will be more vulnerable to falling – possibly taking power lines down with them – because the ground is saturated from recent heavy rains. This is going to affect us tonight through Friday.
“If the creeks start to rise and there’s water running over bridges or roadway, that’s a really risky situation because you can’t always tell how deep that water is”, Vestal said.
Crews planned to inspect 60 sites Thursday, Boone said.
Advertisement
One person has died in a wreck on Interstate 95 northeast of Fayetteville and the North Carolina Highway Patrol says the death may be weather related.
