Hurricane Helene — now a tropical storm — has made its way across the Charlotte region and has brought strong winds and heavy rainfall. Governments, schools and other activities are closed Friday.
Closures
Here’s a list of school closures and schedule changes that WFAE will update as more closures are announced:
- Caldwell County Schools: Closed Friday; early dismissal Thursday
- Catawba County Schools: Closed Friday; county parks also closed.
- Fort Mill Schools: Virtual learning day Friday
- Gaston County Schools: Virtual learning day Friday
- Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools: After-school activities canceled Thursday; Friday will be a virtual learning day for students at home. "This remote learning will be completed asynchronously (no face-to-face instruction). All asynchronous assignments for the day will be posted on the teacher’s Canvas page by 7 a.m. Friday, emailed out via ParentSquare by 7 a.m. Friday, and/or provided to the students via paper on Thursday," the school system said in a message.
- Rock Hill Schools: Virtual learning day Friday.
- Union County Schools: After-school activities canceled Thursday; schools closed Friday.
- Chester County Schools: Virtual learning day Friday
- Lancaster County Schools: Virtual learning day Friday
- Rowan County Schools: After school activities closed Thursday. Virtual learning day Friday
- Stanly County Schools: After school activities closed Thursday. Virtual learning day Friday
- Chesterfield County Schools: Virtual learning day Friday
- UNC Charlotte: The university will be at "Condition 1" operations starting at 5 pm on Thursday, through Friday. All classes after 5 pm Thursday will be online and employees who can telework should do so.
Additionally, Mecklenburg County offices and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library system are closed Friday.
Power outages
As of 8 am, about 880,000 customers were without power in North Carolina and South Carolina, Duke Energy reported.
About 78,000 of those were in Mecklenburg County, along with more than 21,000 in Gaston County, almost 13,000 in Cabarrus County and 11,000 in Union County.
One person killed
Charlotte Fire Department officials said one person was killed early Friday when a tree fell on their house in west Charlotte as Helene, now a tropical storm, passed through the area.
The house is in the 5400 block of Brookway Drive, near Rozelles Ferry Road. The tree fell shortly after 5 a.m.
One other person was also trapped in the house but survived. Minor children in the house were not injured, firefighters said.