Hurricane Matthew Makes Landfall near Charleston

Strong winds and dangerous storm surges from Hurricane Matthew pummeled the South Carolina coast near Charleston Saturday morning, with heavy rains and gusty winds spreading inland and flash flood watches issued as far north as Mecklenburg County.

Bad weather was causing problems in the Charlotte area, including a rescue in progress at 11:30 a.m. after a tree fell onto a home on Chiswick Court, off Rea Road in south Charlotte.

The storm made landfall southeast of McClellanville, S.C., with serious flooding unfolding, the National Hurricane Center reported at 11 a.m. McClellanville is a small fishing town in Charleston County.

Hurricane Matthew was about 55 miles from Myrtle Beach and about 100 miles southwest of Cape Fear. The storm chugged along at 12 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. Flooding and strong winds were spreading inland in the Carolinas.

Eastern North Carolina, east of Interstate 95, can expect 10 to 15 inches of rain from the storm, Gov. Pat McCrory said at a 9 a.m. press briefing.

McCrory said he was concerned that people would “let up their guard” because Matthew was downgraded to a Category 1 storm Saturday morning. But the prospect of life-threatening floods will continue throughout the day, he said.

“I cannot stress enough the intensity of this storm,” McCrory said.

With 2 to 4 inches of rain expected through late Saturday, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus and Union counties and the S.C. counties of York and Chester are under a flood watch until 6 a.m. Sunday.

The Charlotte area can expect showers until 5 p.m. Saturday and gusts of up to 34 mph, according to the National Weather Service. The chance of rain is 90 percent throughout the day, dropping to 30 percent by Saturday evening.

Charlotte Motor Speedway postponed Saturday night’s Bank of America 500 race to noon Sunday, followed by the Xfinity Series Drive for the Cure 300 that was originally scheduled for Friday night.

Pockets of heavy rain from Matthew began pivoting from east to west into the Charlotte metro area shortly after sunrise. Rain is falling at a rate of about 1 inch per hour in the heavier bands. No flooding was reported as of 9:45 a.m.

As of 10 a.m., 24-hour rainfall in Mecklenburg County totaled 3.44 inches at Elon Homes in Ballantyne, 2.82 inches in downtown Matthews, 2.76 inches at the state Department of Transportation office on U.S. 74 at I-485 and 1.74 inches at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

The National Weather Service’s short-range computer models predict the heavier rain will exit the Charlotte area, to the east, around 1 or 2 p.m.

As of 9:45 a.m., Duke Energy reported 98,800 outages across the Carolinas, including 2,724 in Gaston County, 1,817 in Mecklenburg and 3,410 in York County, S.C.

On the coast, the state suspended ferry service on the Hatteras Inlet route after an 8 a.m. departure from Ocracoke to Hatteras. Ferries evacuated 1,362 people from Ocracoke.

Matthew brought heavy rain and some of the highest tides on record along the S.C. coast. Streets and intersections in historic Charleston were flooded. At least one wind gust of 87 mph was recorded at Hilton Head, S.C.

More than 150,000 electric customers in South Carolina were without power, and 250,000 were in the dark in coastal Georgia. Matthew was expected to near North Carolina’s southern coast by Saturday night.

All of the South Carolina coast remained under a hurricane warning, with officials warning about storm surge. In Charleston, rainfall ranged between 5 and 10 inches, and a wind speed of 52 mph was recorded at the Charleston airport shortly after midnight. A high of 88 mph was recorded at Hilton Head airport.

“Now is the time we ask for prayer,” Gov. Nikki Haley said, bowing her head.

At 10 a.m., the S.C. Department of Transportation said numerous roads were flooded or blocked by downed trees in the Midlands and coastal areas. Interstate 95 remained closed to all traffic in the southern part of the state, with numerous trees blown onto the road.

A tidal gauge on Charleston Harbor reached a high of more than nine feet above the mean measurement. “That’s the third highest ever recorded,” said meteorologist Bob Bright at the National Weather Service office in Charleston. “(Hurricane) Hugo was three feet higher than what we had today.”

Matthew, the most powerful hurricane to threaten the Atlantic Seaboard in more than a decade, killed about 300 residents of Haiti before moving along the Florida coast on Friday, where another four people died.

The storm also lashed Savannah, Ga., where residents were ordered to evacuate. Savannah resident Justin Singletary said his dad suggested Justin, 34, and girlfriend Kasey Gay, 28, head to Charlotte Motor Speedway in their 33-foot motor coach. “‘You guys go have fun,’” Justin Singletary said his dad told him.

“They’re treating us great around here,” Justin said by phone from the speedway on Friday afternoon. They were given a spot in the infield and were treated to a tour of the speedway.

Other Savannah residents fled to Le Méridien, a hotel on South McDowell Street in Charlotte that also welcomed their pets on several floors.

Source: The Charlotte Observer