Hanna rakes Carolinas with rain, wind, some floods
(AP) – September 6, 2008 -- Tropical Storm Hanna sailed easily over the beaches of
Carolinas' coast and moved inland Saturday, blowing hard and dumping rain in
eastern North Carolina but causing little damage beyond isolated flooding as it
quickly headed north toward New England.
Emergency officials were already looking past Hanna to powerful Hurricane Ike, several hundred miles out in the Atlantic. With Category 3 winds of near 115 mph, Ike could approach Cuba and southern Florida by Monday, as Hanna spins away from Canada over the North Atlantic.
"Hanna is heading north in a hurry, leaving behind sunshine for the weekend," said Myrtle Beach city spokesman Mark Kruea.
He said city services would be open and that "despite a week of preliminary hype" the storm didn't have much of an impact on the city aside from a few downed trees and some power outages that were repaired in less than a half-hour. It was the same story in eastern North Carolina, where Hanna headed with top winds of around 50 mph after coming ashore around 3:20 a.m.
Julia Jarema, a spokeswoman at the N.C. Emergency Operations Center, said there are reports of some localized flooding, temporary road closures and scattered power outages, but that officials haven't heard about too many problems.
"As the day goes on, I'm sure we're going to hear more reports of flooding as people get out and get on the roads," she said.
At least 1,500 spent the night in shelters and more than 55,000 customers - mostly around Wilmington, N.C - were without power early Saturday in the Carolinas. To the north, the Coast Guard closed all navigable waters in the Port of Hampton Roads, the lower Maryland Eastern Shore and the Port of Richmond, Va., on the James River.
Several inches of rain fell in the Carolinas, including 5 inches in Fayetteville and the Sandhills region. The same was forecast for central Virginia, Maryland and southeastern Pennsylvania, where some spots could get up to 10 inches. Forecasters warned of the potential for flash flooding in the northern mid-Atlantic states and southern New England.
"Fortunately it happened during the night, on the weekend. That would be a mess if it happened during the week as people are tying to get to work," said National Weather Service meteorologist Jonathan Blaes.
Emergency officials were already looking past Hanna to powerful Hurricane Ike, several hundred miles out in the Atlantic. With Category 3 winds of near 115 mph, Ike could approach Cuba and southern Florida by Monday, as Hanna spins away from Canada over the North Atlantic.
"Hanna is heading north in a hurry, leaving behind sunshine for the weekend," said Myrtle Beach city spokesman Mark Kruea.
He said city services would be open and that "despite a week of preliminary hype" the storm didn't have much of an impact on the city aside from a few downed trees and some power outages that were repaired in less than a half-hour. It was the same story in eastern North Carolina, where Hanna headed with top winds of around 50 mph after coming ashore around 3:20 a.m.
Julia Jarema, a spokeswoman at the N.C. Emergency Operations Center, said there are reports of some localized flooding, temporary road closures and scattered power outages, but that officials haven't heard about too many problems.
"As the day goes on, I'm sure we're going to hear more reports of flooding as people get out and get on the roads," she said.
At least 1,500 spent the night in shelters and more than 55,000 customers - mostly around Wilmington, N.C - were without power early Saturday in the Carolinas. To the north, the Coast Guard closed all navigable waters in the Port of Hampton Roads, the lower Maryland Eastern Shore and the Port of Richmond, Va., on the James River.
Several inches of rain fell in the Carolinas, including 5 inches in Fayetteville and the Sandhills region. The same was forecast for central Virginia, Maryland and southeastern Pennsylvania, where some spots could get up to 10 inches. Forecasters warned of the potential for flash flooding in the northern mid-Atlantic states and southern New England.
"Fortunately it happened during the night, on the weekend. That would be a mess if it happened during the week as people are tying to get to work," said National Weather Service meteorologist Jonathan Blaes.
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