Charlotte North Carolina News

Updated 5:20 p.m. Tuesday Michael has strengthened to a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained wind speeds of 120 miles-per-hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. The hurricane is currently about 295 miles south of Panama City, Florida, but will likely make landfall in the panhandle by 1 p.m. Wednesday. Michael will move northeast into Georgia, likely arriving in South Carolina around 1 p.m. Thursday before it moves into North Carolina.    Graphs released by…

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina’s governor is taking hold of state lottery profits and sending $25 million to repair schools with immediate needs after damage caused by Hurricane Florence. Gov. Roy Cooper said Monday he’s acting to speed up repairs, with priority in eight counties hit the hardest. Cooper’s office says seven public school systems remain closed since last month’s storm, keeping nearly 90,000 students out of classrooms in more than 130 schools. The…

MANTEO, N.C. (AP) — In the wake of Hurricane Florence, the North Carolina coast has been plagued with a tide of frogs and toads, but the storm’s record-setting floods aren’t entirely to blame. State biologist Jeff Hall said that the coast is experiencing a convergence of two types of frog and toad population explosions. The first wave takes the form of tadpoles born during June and July’s abnormally heavy rains, while the second is a…

TAMPA (FOX 13) – Hurricane Michael strengthened to a Category 2 storm by Tuesday morning as continues to move north in the Gulf of Mexico. It is forecasted to make landfall as a strong Category 3 hurricane in the Florida Panhandle by Wednesday. As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, Michael was reaching 100 mph winds. The storm is expected to stay west of the peninsula, however, Tampa Bay will still experience some gusty winds. Stronger sustained tropical…

National Hurricane Center, Tropical Storm Force Wind Speed Probabilities  National Hurricane Center, Tropical Storm Force Wind Speed Probabilities  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) – Hurricane Michael continues to gain strength as it moves through the southern Gulf of Mexico.   By 5 a.m. Tuesday, Michael’s top sustained winds had risen some to 90 mph (144 kph) as it headed north at 12 mph (19 kph).  The Category 1 storm was centered about 390 miles (627 kilometers) south…

TAMPA (FOX 13) – Tropical Storm Michael reached hurricane strength Monday as it moved north into the Gulf of Mexico, and forecasters expect it to get even stronger before landfall on the Florida Panhandle. The storm’s projected path shows Michael staying west of peninsular Florida, making a landfall somewhere along the Panhandle on Wednesday.  Under that track, the Tampa Bay area would still experience some wind, rain, and some coastal flooding. On Monday morning, the…

Governor Roy Cooper announced Monday that he’s sending $25 million from the North Carolina Education Lottery Fund to speed up repairs to K-12 schools damaged by Hurricane Florence. Florence damaged schools across the state last month, with Cooper saying Monday that several school districts remain closed, keeping more than 130 schools serving nearly 90,000 out of class. Cooper said the lottery funds will help because affected school districts have used up most of their contingency…

Tropical storm Michael became Hurricane Michael Monday morning, and is on track to be in the Carolinas between Wednesday evening and Thursday evening.  The National Weather Service is anticipating 1 to 2 inches of rain in the Charlotte region and 4 to 5 inches east of Raleigh, in some of the areas hit hardest by Hurricane Florence. Spokesperson for the North Carolina Emergency Services and Department of Public Safety Keith Acree said state and local…

A Superior Court judge temporarily shut down a tree service that quoted a Wilmington woman a $4,000 price for cleanup following Hurricane Florence but charged a $12,000 bill. The state Attorney General’s office sought and received a preliminary injunction Monday against A1 Tree & Storm Relief from Lexington, also known as Big A1, arguing that the business engaged in price-gouging with customers made vulnerable by the devastating storm. Judge Bryan Collins ruled that Alva Wilson…

TAMPA (FOX 13) – Tropical Storm Michael has reached hurricane strength as it moves north into the Gulf of Mexico, and forecasters expect it to get even stronger before landfall on the Florida Panhandle. The storm’s projected path shows Michael staying west of peninsular Florida, making a landfall somewhere along the Panhandle on Wednesday.  Under that track, the Tampa Bay area would still experience some wind, rain, and some coastal flooding. On Monday morning, the…

Tropical Storm Michael is in the Gulf of Mexico and expected to bring heavy winds, inches of rain and a chance of flash floods to parts of the Carolinas later this week, including the Charlotte area, according to the National Hurricane Center. As of 5 a.m. Monday, the storm was “almost a hurricane” and moving north at 7 mph, reported the National Hurricane Center. “Michael is forecast to be a hurricane and possibly a major…

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Sunday warned that a tropical storm headed for the Florida Panhandle could become a Category 2 hurricane with winds up to 100 miles per hour by the time it makes landfall at midweek. Scott issued an order for a state of emergency for 26 counties in the Florida Panhandle and the Big Bend area. The declaration will free up resources for storm preparation. “This storm will…

MIAMI (AP) — Newly named Tropical Storm Michael could strengthen to a hurricane as it heads to the Florida Panhandle, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said Sunday. The hurricane center upgraded the tropical depression in the Caribbean to a named tropical storm, saying it had winds of up to 40 mph (65 kph). The storm could strengthen into a hurricane by Tuesday night or Wednesday, the hurricane center said. The hurricane center advised residents along…