Winds are gusting now, some very strong. But no rain yet. The wind has already knocked down limbs, which have taken down some power lines. Sporadic power outages in the Charlotte-metro area already with more expected. Some power outages in my small town, but so far, knock on wood, I still have power. We're only getting the leading edges of the outer bands at the moment, but it is heading straight at us. Over 600,000 people in NC are already without power, obviously more the further east you go. SC has over 100,000 without power and climbing.
Biggest concern is flooding. The summer has been wet and the ground in many places is already saturated. Some areas will get months of rain in hours. Erosion and mud slides are expected, though in this area, the topography is relatively flat (except my back yard, which may wash away into the creek!). Flash flooding of low-lying areas is a high probability. The hurricane is crawling at this point, ranging from 3-5mph as it slowly moves westward. Unfortunately that means it sits over an area a very long time, increasing the amount of rain the area is going to get hit with throughout the period of the storm. Greater Charlotte area still calling for 8”+ of rain. Worst case scenario, 20"!
We're prepared as much as possible. Striving to keep the powder dry!
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