Hurricanes

Helene made landfall in northwestern Florida Thursday night. The storm is bringing heavy rain to the Carolinas. Several school systems have closed, including Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Here’s a list that WFAE will update as closures are announced.

The sun was still shining over much of the Charlotte region Wednesday afternoon, but officials urged residents to prepare for a storm that's expected to bring heavy rains and the potential for flash flooding and downed trees through Friday.

The hurricane is expected to bring heavy rain and potential flash flooding to most areas in North Carolina.

At least three deaths were reported after Beryl's landfall. In Houston, the storm flooded roads and took down traffic lights. Cleanup could take weeks, officials said.

Beryl was hurtling across the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico on a collision course with Texas, forecast to pick up strength and regain hurricane status before nearing the coast Sunday and making landfall the following day with heavy rains, howling winds and dangerous storm surge.

Climate change is making powerful hurricanes more common. That may require adding a new official designation for the more intense storms, a new study suggests.

The final round of federally funded grants through the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) Affordable Housing Development Fund is going to single-family and multi-family housing developments in Bladen, Duplin, Jones, Pamlico, Pender and Scotland counties.

Billion-dollar disasters caused by extreme weather and climate change rose across the U.S. in 2022, making it the third-worst year on record, according to a federal report out Tuesday. The biggest was Hurricane Ian, which devastated Florida and eroded beaches in the Carolinas in September.

Federal forecasters are predicting the seventh straight above-normal Atlantic hurricane season and urging preparedness to avoid a repeat of disasters like Hurricane Ida, which lashed Louisiana and produced tornadoes and floods in the northeast last year.

Climate change is bringing more intense storms, flooding and other weather extremes that can leave communities devastated. The North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency plans for big storms. Its chief resilience officer, Amanda Martin, says there's uncertainty over whether lawmakers will keep her office going when funding expires later this year.