Saturday starts with a weak front sliding throughΒ ourΒ region. The big thing to know here is moisture is lacking, so most of the rain struggles to survive as it moves east. The mountains may squeeze out a little accumulation, but around CharlotteΒ MetroΒ and areas east, itβs mainly a cloudy start with perhaps a few spotty drops that never really amount to much.
The Florida Highway Patrol has closed an 80-mile stretch of Interstate 10 to clear debris from Hurricane Michael.
The National Hurricane Center says Michael is making landfall near Mexico Beach, Florida, as a catastrophic Category 4 Hurricane, pushing a deadly storm surge and whipping the coast with 155 mph (250 kph) winds.
North Carolinaβs governor, Roy Cooper, has declared a state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Michael.
Gaining frightening fury overnight, Hurricane Michael closed in Wednesday on the Florida Panhandle with potentially catastrophic winds of 145 mph, the most powerful storm on record ever to menace the stretch of fishing towns, military bases and spring-break beaches.
A fast and furious Hurricane Michael sped toward the Florida Panhandle on Tuesday with 120 mph winds and a potential storm surge of 13 feet, giving tens of thousands of people precious little time to get out or board up.
In the storm-weary Carolinas, Hurricane Michaelβs approach is stoking fresh fears among homeowners who still have tarps on their roofs or industrial dehumidifiers drying their floors from destruction left by Hurricane Florence.
Hurricane Michael, a category 2 storm, is predicted to journey across the Carolinas late Wednesday and early Thursday, pouring 2 to 6 inches or more of rainfall.
The National Weather Service has already issued Flash Flood Watches for most of the WCCB viewing area in preparation for Hurricane Michael.
