newsobserver.com blogs -- weather

Map: Visualization of the wind

matthewfortner — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 07:00:00 -0400

From a cooling breeze to a force of destruction, the influence of wind in our lives is undeniable. Wind spread man across the globe, and has even altered the course of events that otherwise seemed inevitable in history.

The invisible force was attributed to gods in many cultures, but here is an stunning way to see the wind in action.

This wind map produced by Fernanda Viegas and Martin Wattenberg draws data from the National Digital Forecast Database to create a beautiful visual.

Early spring boosts retail sales

toristilwell — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:21:44 -0400

Beach-goers and pinickers aren't the only ones happy with the warm weather. An early spring and improving economy have lifted demand for merchandise such as clothing, whose sales heavily depend on the weather and disposable income.

The International Council of Shopping Centers estimates a 3 percent to 5 percent increase in March retail sales, compared to last year's gain of 2 percent.

Retailers like Target, Macy's and the Limited Brands are all expected to see jumps in sales for the month.

Discount stores are also seeing better sales on account of the weather and spring holidays.

Both St. Patrick's Day and Easter are expected to boost those buying spring items such as gardening tools. Sales for discount tools have already risen 3.9 percent for the month, compared to a 3.8 percent estimate by the retail research service Johnson Redbook.

The record snow of 1927

tleonard — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 13:54:00 -0500

Last weekend's snowy flirtation with winter was no comparison to the great storm that hit North Carolina 85 years ago. Snow started during the night of March 1, 1927 and continued until it had hit record depths and crippled the city.

The heaviest accumulation was reported in Wilson, which saw between 30 and 40 inches of snow. Nearly 18 inches hit Raleigh. The storm spanned the state and extended as far west as Kentucky and as far south as Alabama. It was the biggest storm since the famous blizzard of 1899.

Raleigh yesterday struggled beneath the heaviest single day's snowfall in the history of the city. Twenty hours of continuous snowfall, which ceased yesterday afternoon at 3 o'clock, brought the total depth to 17.8 inches, one-tenth of an inch more than the previous record of 17.7 inches recorded February 12-13, 1899.

[...]

Yesterday's record snow played havoc with traffic and business in general. The General Assembly was practically the only organization to function on all cylinders. Street car traffic was at a standstill; bus lines and taxicab companies kept their vehicles in the garages; trains in and out of Raleigh ran several hours behind schedule; city and county schools observed the day as a holiday; no session of Wake Superior or Raleigh city court were held; state departments declared a holiday, and in offices and stores throughout the city only partial forces were at work as many of the officials and employes were snowbound and unable to reach the establishments.

While the snowfall was but 17.8 inches, it was accompanied by a 30-mile wind which resulted in drifts on streets of the city in some instances waist high and at the corners of tall buildings in the business section of even higher proportions. Pedestrian traffic was the order as few automobilists ventured forth in their vehicles. Pedestrians found safe traveling on the slippery tracts or in the knee-deep drifts extremely difficult, and to maintain safe footings proved a feat.

Dispatches from all over the state described conditions in individual towns.

The University of North Carolina and the town of Chapel Hill are literally snowbound today. The heaviest snow of many years fell last night and this morning, burying the countryside beneath a 20-inch blanket of white and cutting off all communication with the outside world except by wire. Until a late hour this afternoon there had been no mail service of any kind. Not a bus or car has run between Chapel Hill and Durham, and train connection with the main line of the Southern at University station 13 miles away has been cut by the deep drifts. Railway authorities stated that the train to University station would make a trip late this afternoon, and people of the town may get their morning papers late tonight. Highway crews are working on the drifts that block the roads leading into town, and travel by bus and auto may be resumed tomorrow. Until then Chapel Hill is a town that stands alone.

Although this was a record snowfall, it was not as problematic as others in recent memory.

The famous snow storm of April, 1915, which started on Good Friday evening, and piled up a depth in snow of around ten inches, was by far more destructive than the present storm. The 1915 snow started falling after the ground had been soaked by a torrential rain and with the temperature high enough to cause the flakes to stick together, with disastrous results to telephone and telegraph wires, trolley lines and trees. The fall continued from Friday evening, around 8 o'clock, until Saturday afternoon.

The scene that greeted Raleigh citizens [that] Saturday morning was one of devastation on all sides; fallen trees and telegraph and telephone poles littered the streets, adding to the obstacles of resuming street car service; broken wires made laborious walking dangerous; and the usual Easter Sunday fashion parade as well as church programs were postponed for a week. The paralysis of the wire systems kept the city without lights and power for two or three days.

Raleigh was cut off from outside communication for an entire week, the first wire to be re-established by the Western Union being used to handle Associated Press reports and urgent commercial business. The "Old Reliable" was forced to get its news by train, receiving carbon copies of the Associated Press report at Greensboro a day late. -- The News & Observer 3/3/1927

East at Riverside moved to Monday

ewarnock — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:36:14 -0400

Due to rain and a soggy field at Linny Wrenn Stadium, East Chapel Hill's Piedmont Athletic 4-A Conference football game at Durham Riverside High School has been rescheduled for Monday evening at 7 p.m.

Tuesday's high school sports postponed

ewarnock — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 16:46:47 -0400

All of Tuesday's athletic events in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school system were cancelled or postponed due to the threatening weather across the district.

That includes four varsity events for Carrboro, three of which have been rescheduled for Wednesday.

Carrboro's cross-country team and tennis teams both will host conference events at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, and the Jaguar volleyball team will host Raleigh Charter at 6 p.m.

Tuesday's non-conference soccer match between Jordan and Chapel Hill has been moved to Oct. 20. School officials also opted to switch the site of a match next Monday with Cedar Ridge to Chapel Hill's home field.

A field hockey match between Carrboro and East Chapel Hill has not been rescheduled at this time.

Other events already scheduled for Wednesday — like Carrboro's soccer match at East Chapel Hill High School — are set to go on as planned.

NCDOT sets schedule for Stumpy Point emergency ferry route

kkeister — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:15:47 -0400

View NC Ferry Routes in a larger map

MANNS HARBOR — The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division announces it will begin running a set schedule at its Stumpy Point emergency route beginning Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011.

This route is for emergency responders and essential commodities only and is based on first-come, first-serve. A total of 7 vessels will be running on the route, the same number that is used during peak season. The crossing time to Rodanthe is 2 hours and the crossing time to Hatteras is 3.5 hours.

The Stumpy Point-Rodanthe schedule will be as follows:

* Departing Stumpy Point at 6:30 a.m., 8, 10, 10:30, 12:30 p.m., 2, 4 and 4:30; and

* Departing Rodanthe at 7 a.m., 9:30, 11, 1 p.m., 1:30; 3:30, 5 and 7:30.

The Stumpy Point-Hatteras schedule will be as follows:

* Departing Stumpy Point at 9:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.

* Departing Hatteras at 5:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.

Residents and property owners of Hatteras Island who have questions about reentry can call Dare County Emergency Management at 252-475-5655.

The Ferry Division will continue to run an amended Pamlico Sound schedule to take residents and emergency personnel to Ocracoke. Hyde County Emergency Management will allow only vehicles with a purple sticker or green sticker entry back onto the island, with purple stickers, emergency personnel, given priority.

Residents with a current valid driver’s license are also allowed. At this time, Hyde County is not allowing non-resident property owners or visitors onto the island. Those with questions about reentry to Ocracoke should call Hyde County Emergency Management at 252-926-4368.

The Cedar Island-Ocracoke schedule will be as follows:

* Departing Cedar Island at 7 a.m., 10, 1 p.m. and 3:30; and

* Departing Ocracoke at 7:30 a.m., 10, 1 p.m. and 3:30.

The Swan Quarter-Ocracoke schedule will be as follows:

* Departing Swan Quarter at 7 a.m., 10 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 4:30; and

* Departing Ocracoke at 6:30 a.m., 9:30, 12:45 p.m. and 4.

Currituck-Knotts Island, Southport-Fort Fisher and Cherry Branch-Minnesott Beach routes are operating and are open to the public. The Cherry Branch route is experiencing some large debris obstacles in the Neuse River and may at times only run one boat and may not run after dark for safety reasons.

The Bayview-Aurora route is currently not operating due to electrical and structural problems with the ramps. The Hatteras-Ocracoke route will begin operating once sand is cleared off NC 12 from Ocracoke Village to the ferry dock.

The ferry reservations telephone line is currently out of service. Those travelers wishing to obtain a refund should wait until service is restored and a refund will be issued. Online reservations are also not being accepted.

Ferry information is available by calling 800-293-3779 (BY-FERRY) and pressing 1, or via Twitter at www.twitter.com/ncdot_ferry.

Garner to collect storm debris Sept. 12

ericf123058 — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 13:28:12 -0400

This from the town of Garner:

Garner will be conducting a one-time sweep of residential areas to pick up and
dispose of storm-related yard waste debris beginning Monday, Sept. 12. All materials intended for disposal should be placed curbside no later than 7 a.m. that morning.

Residents are encouraged to use their regular weekly prepared yard waste services for pickup. However, if additional assistance is required due to size or volume, the town will pick up unprepared yard waste at the curbside during the one-time sweep. This special pickup is for yard waste only, and there will be no back-tracking. Note that, in accordance with town ordinance, contractor-generated debris is not eligible for either the special pickup or regular weekly collection.

Residents who take advantage of the regular weekly yard waste collection are reminded to follow certain rules. Limbs, hedge clippings or shrubs less than 1 1/2 inches in diameter should be tied in bundles not exceeding 4 feet in length or placed in clear plastic bags or a reusable container no larger than 32 gallons in size. There is a 60-pound weight limit for each bundle, bag or container.

Limbs larger than 1 1/2 inches in diameter need not be tied but should not exceed 4 feet in length and 60 pounds per piece. They should be placed with the large ends toward the street.

All yard waste debris should be placed behind the curb.

Residents are also reminded of the scheduled unprepared yard waste pickup coming at the end of October. The schedule can be found on customers’ recycling calendar or on the town’s website here.

For more information, contact the Public Works Department at 772-7600.

Here's an outage update from Progress Energy

ericf123058 — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:17:32 -0400

About 44,500 Progress Energy customers in North Carolina are without power as of noon today (Tuesday), the company says. These are the counties with 2,000 or more outages:

County	Customers
Craven	11,100
Lenoir	6,900
Onslow	6,100
Wayne	3,200
Beaufort	3,100
Pamlico	3,300
Carteret	2,500

Other counties in coastal and eastern North Carolina have fewer than 2,000 outages.

Ice distributed at Food Lion stores

ericf123058 — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:31:20 -0400

Food Lion is distributing free bags of ice at four of its stores in communities affected by Hurricane Irene, beginning immediately and while supplies last. Each location has a full truckload of ice, about 4,000 bags. The locations are:

U.S. 64 and La Keiser Road, Columbia, N.C.

5200 South Croatan Highway, Nags Head.

101 Park Drive Highway 168-S, Moyock.

1316 North Broad St., Edenton.

Here's the 1 p.m. update from Progress Energy

ericf123058 — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:18:20 -0400

Here's the update from Progress Energy on major outages in the state, as of 1 p.m. Monday:

Total Progress Energy customers out in North Carolina: approximately 84,706, down from a peak of 280,000 at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Counties with 4,000 or more customers out as of 1 p.m.:

Wayne	9,850
Craven	13,900
Carteret	5,950
Nash	9,200
Onslow	10,000
New Hanover	2,050
Lenoir	7,800
Franklin	4,700
Beaufort	4,600
Pamlico	4,200

Fewer than 4,000 outages in numerous other counties in coastal and eastern North Carolina.

A call for volunteers

ericf123058 — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 12:57:39 -0400

Just got this:

North Carolina Baptist Men, providing disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Irene, are set up in four locations in North Carolina, and they are seeking volunteers.

The four sites are:

First Baptist Church in New Bern (feeding/recovery)
Memorial Baptist Church in Williamston (feeding/recovery)
Manteo Baptist Church (feeding/recovery)
Memorial Baptist Church in Greenville (State Recovery Unit)

Those interested in helping can get involved in a number of ways:

Volunteer—men and women are needed to do mud-outs, chainsaw work, tree and debris removal from homes and yards
In Kind Donations—canned food, bottled water, hygiene items, baby products (diapers, formula), cleaning supplies, furniture, appliances (no clothing please)
Monetary Donations

Those interested in volunteering or providing donations should visit this website.

Johnston landfill taking Irene debris

ericf123058 — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:06:00 -0400

The Johnston County landfill at 680 County Home Road in Smithfield will accept vegetative debris related to Hurricane Irene from residential customers at no charge, today through Sept. 10. Hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. through 4:45 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. through 3:30 p.m.

For more information, contact the Solid Waste Division at 919-989-4750.

A status report and tips from Progress Energy

ericf123058 — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 10:12:36 -0400

Here's the latest update from Progress Energy on the power outages caused by Hurricane Irene, as of 9 a.m. Monday. At the bottom are some contact information, resources and safety pointers for consumers:

By midnight tonight, Progress Energy expects to complete restoration to 85 percent of the customers who were out of service at the peak of Hurricane Irene’s wind and rain Saturday afternoon. The company expects to have 96 percent of customers back in service by midnight Tuesday and 99 percent back in service by midnight Wednesday.

The company has restored service to more than 355,000 customers who lost power since Hurricane Irene began lashing the region with strong winds and torrential rains Friday afternoon. The highest number of outages at any one time was at 2 p.m. Saturday, with about 280,000 customers out as the storm churned on land.

By 9 a.m. today, about 94,900 customers remained without power, and an army of 1,200 line and tree workers and 1,000 support personnel – some from as far as Florida and Arkansas – is out in force, rebuilding power lines and other facilities.

Crews Sunday restored service to 17 high-voltage transmission lines, 28 electric substations and 18 points of delivery to wholesale customers, including municipally owned utilities and electric membership cooperatives in eastern North Carolina. Transmission crews expect to complete repairs to the backbone system today.

Damage assessment was impeded by Irene’s strong winds, which continued into Saturday night in coastal areas and the coastal plain. Restoration efforts have been hampered by severe flooding in many areas, and by the number of trees on power lines. In many remote and low-lying areas, crews have used helicopters, boats and tracked vehicles to assess and access damage.

The company’s estimate for complete restoration extends into Thursday for the areas with the most severe damage and flooding. Progress Energy focuses on getting the largest facilities back in service first. That allows for the largest number of customers to be returned to service the fastest.

In remote areas with extensive damage and flooding, crews often must spend several hours repairing many spans of line and poles to get one or two customers back in service.

Hurricane Irene made landfall Saturday morning near Morehead City as a strong category-1 storm. The storm pounded the area with strong winds and heavy rains for several hours before moving north. The storm also jogged to the west before its exit, bringing strong, sustained winds to the coastal plain, including the Goldsboro area, Nash County and the eastern Triangle. Due to the size and path of Hurricane Irene, Progress Energy crews were restoring service in parts of the Carolinas even as Irene was creating new damage.

Counties with the largest numbers of remaining outages as of 9 a.m.:

County	Customers
Craven	13,800
Wayne	11,600
Nash	10,900
Onslow	10,000
Lenoir	7,800
Carteret	7,300
Franklin	5,400
Beaufort	4,600
Pamlico	4,200
Duplin	3,600

Numerous other counties in eastern North Carolina have fewer than 2,500 customers remaining out of service.

Following major storms, Progress Energy completes a comprehensive damage assessment, which allows the company to dispatch crews and equipment most efficiently. Doing the thorough assessment also enables the company to provide customers with the most accurate information about damage and restoration times.

We focus initially on restoring service to major facilities, such as power plants and transmission lines, and then work on distribution feeder lines, then smaller power lines and, ultimately, individual service. This helps ensure that we get the largest number of customers back in service the fastest.

Customers who have not yet reported their power out should do so by calling 1-800-419-6356. Our automated outage-reporting system is capable of handling 120,000 calls per hour. Customers who have already registered their account can also report outages by smart phone on our newly launched mobile website at m.progress-energy.com.

Progress Energy asks customers to be safe on roadways and to give a wide berth to utility crews working to restore service. It’s not just a good idea; it’s the law.

Report any downed power lines to Progress Energy at 1-800-419-6356. Don’t go near downed power lines, and keep children and pets away, too. Always assume a power line is energized and dangerous.

New tools to track outages and restoration

Customers and media can find outage information on Progress Energy's website 24 hours a day at www.progress-energy.com/outagemap. The map is being updated at regular intervals throughout the day.

Progress Energy is also using social media channels to keep customers informed throughout the storm restoration process. The company will post regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/progressenergy and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ProgressEnergyCarolinas.

Safety after the storm

· Never go near downed power lines. Always assume they are energized and extremely dangerous. If someone suffers an electric shock, call 911 or your local rescue squad immediately. Even minor shocks may cause serious health problems later.

· Check for electrical damage inside your home, such as frayed wires, sparks or the smell of burning insulation. If you find damage, don’t turn your power on until an electrician inspects your system and makes necessary repairs.

· Walk and drive cautiously. Watch out for debris-filled streets and weakened bridges. Snakes and insects can be a problem after storms.

· Use your emergency water supply or boil water before drinking it until local officials deem the water supply safe. Report broken sewer or water mains.

· Make temporary repairs to protect property from further damage or looting. Beware of unscrupulous contractors.

· Do not connect a generator directly to your home’s electrical system. It is dangerous to you, your neighbors and utility workers. Follow manufacturer’s directions regarding connecting appliances directly to your generator.

Here's the early Monday Progress Energy update

ericf123058 — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 09:01:45 -0400

From Progress Energy, here's the report on major Progress Energy power outages as of 7 a.m. today (Monday):

About 98,000 Progress Energy customers are without power in North Carolina as of 7 a.m. That's down from a peak of 280,000 at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Here are counties with 3,000 or more outages:

County	Customers
Craven	13,800
Wayne	11,400
Nash	10,900
Onslow	10,500
Lenoir	7,700
Carteret	7,100
Franklin	5,400
Beaufort	4,600
Pamlico	4,200
Duplin	3,600

Numerous other counties in coastal and eastern North Carolina have fewer than 3,000 outages.

Back to the Beach

josephneff — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 15:08:31 -0400

A hurricane generally leaves beautiful weather in its wake. Want to know which beaches are open? The state's Visit.NC website has a list of which beaches are open to tourists. To view it, go to www.visitnc.com/advisories/view/12

Harris Teeter Giving Free Water & Ice

josephneff — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 13:20:31 -0400

Charlotte-based Harris Teeter is distributing free water and ice to eastern North Carolina residents affected by Hurricane Irene. Here are the locations:

Store #221, 2019 S Glenburnie Rd in New Bern – 8/28 at 3pm; 8/29 at 12pm
Store #265, 5000 US Hwy 70 in Morehead City – 8/28 at 4pm followed by additional trucks; 8/29 at 12pm
Store #287, 2120 E Firetower Rd in Greenville, NC – 8/28, distribution in process and second truck to arrive at 4pm
Store #320, 1470 Quarterpath Rd in Williamsburg – 8/28, distribution in process
Store #175, 2012 South Croatan Hwy in Kill Devil Hills – 8/28, distribution in process
Store #96, 5920 Carolina Beach Rd in Wilmington – 8/28, distribution in process
Store #158, 820 S College Rd in Wilmington – 8/28, distribution in process
Store #135, 203 Alston Blvd in Hampstead – 8/28, distribution in process
Store #225, 2012 Regent Way in Leland - 8/28, distribution in process

Store #63, 3649 Sunset Avenue in Rocky Mount - 8/28 at 3pm - ICE ONLY

Citizens urged to use DOT's 511 or web services

ericf123058 — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 13:14:24 -0400

From the North Carolina Department of Transportation:

To address the numerous inquiries involving road closures and to prevent an overload of inquiries into 911 communication centers, it is requested that people seeking the status of roads closures dial 511 or go to www.ncdot.gov/travel.

The DOT is part of the 511 nationwide network systems that was established in July 2000 to disseminate travel information to the public via another venue, the telephone.

511 uses an automated voice response system, which means callers are guided through a menu with a series of requests. Callers can ask for specific areas, and the system will provide information about traffic incidents, closures and other important roadway conditions.

The types of information available include:

Traffic incidents and major closures on Interstates, U.S. routes, and state routes.

Weather conditions statewide.

Road congestion and planned construction on interstates, U.S. routes and state routes.

Amber alerts.

Links to neighboring states' 511 systems.

For real-time travel information any time, call 511, visit www.ncdot.gov/travel or follow NCDOT on Twitter at www.ncdot.gov/travel/twitter. Another option is NCDOT Mobile, a phone-friendly version of the NCDOT website. To access it, type "m.ncdot.gov" into the browser of your smartphone. Then, bookmark it to save for future reference. NCDOT Mobile is compatible with the iPhone, Android and some newer Blackberry phones.

For general information about hurricane preparation and updates, follow N.C. Emergency Management on Twitter (@NCEmergency).

Gov. Bev Perdue has activated the state's toll-free emergency information bilingual hotline to provide callers with details about Hurricane Irene. English and Spanish-speaking people should call 1-888-835-9966. Deaf and hard-of-hearing people may call 711 (Relay N.C.)

Atlantic Beach open

andycurliss — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 10:06:41 -0400

The town of Atlantic Beach is open to residents as of 10 a.m.

Gov. Perdue's assessment plans today

andycurliss — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 09:47:24 -0400

Gov. Bev Perdue will visit locations in eastern North Carolina today to assess the state’s response to Hurricane Irene. The times below are approximate and will vary to allow for safe traveling conditions and the need to avoid any interference with response operations.

What: Assessment of hurricane response with local leaders and residents

Who: Gov. Perdue, local leaders and residents

Where: Jones County -- 11 a.m.

Jones County Civic Center

794 Hwy. 58 South

Trenton

Craven County -- 12:30 p.m.

Location to Be Announced

Carteret County -- 2 pm

Location to Be Announced

Dare County – 4:30 pm

Dare County Emergency Operations Center

1044 Driftwood Dr.

Manteo

Emerald Isle to reopen

andycurliss — Sun, 28 Aug 2011 09:03:21 -0400

Emerald Isle is reopen to homeowners.

Visitors can access the beach at 1 p.m., according to the town's Twitter feed.

It reads in full: "Breaking news!! The bridge opens to residents this morning at 9am with permit holders. 1pm for visitors."