Hurricane Arthur ripped through North Carolina overnight and is moving into the northeast as a weakened Category 1 storm.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Arthur’s maximum sustained winds have fallen to 90 miles per hour as the eye was located about 70 miles north of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Power companies say that at least 44,000 residents are without power across the Carolinas because of downed power lines and trees. North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory said storm damage evaluations would begin after the storm completely passed the state. Flooding was the governor’s major concern.
“We’re most concerned about flooding inland and also storm surges in our sounds and our rivers further inland,” he said.
Business owners in the region lamented the timing of the storm saying that it was a badly needed weekend for tourists. Business owners say because of storms they lost the last three straight fall tourism seasons and have struggled to stay open.
The first named storm of the Atlantic storm season is bearing down on the Carolinas as a class 1 hurricane.
Hurricane Arthur reached class 1 status early Thursday morning and has been strengthening at a pace that has surprised meteorologists. Initially forecast to be no stronger than a class 1, many forecasters now predict it could reach mid to upper class 2 status.
The National Hurricane Center says Arthur should stay off the North Carolina coast for the most part but the outer bands will cause significant rainfall and flooding that can lead to washed out roads and downed power lines. Some areas could be without power up to a week according to emergency management officials.
Tony Saavedra with the National Weather Service said the worst of the storm for the Carolinas would happen in the early morning hours Friday when 3 to 5 inches of rain and sustained winds in excess of 85 miles per hour should hit Cape Hatteras.
There are concerns along the mid-Atlantic and New England states that Arthur will ruin the 4th of July weekend. Boston moved its 4th of July celebration concert with the Boston Pops and fireworks to Thursday because of forecasts of heavy rain from Arthur on Friday.
Officials are also watching the beaches to stop surfers from chasing after the large waves caused by the storm. The makeup of Arthur is causing riptides stronger than normal and officials say most surfers won’t be ready for the strength of the riptides.
