Power Outage in Hampstead, NC

A tornado touched down along Clarks Landing Road near Misty Meadows |Lane. It snapped a power pole and several trees, on both sides of the |road, and caused minor roof damage to a few homes on the east side of |Clarks Landing Road. The tornado moved northeast and crossed Highway |210 where it snapped numerous medium to large hardwood and softwood |trees on the north side of the highway behind the Rocky Point General |Store. It continued northeast, causing minor tree damage up to Little |Kelly Road. It crossed Little Kelly Road approximately one-half mile |south of the other tornado. Numerous large trees were snapped on both |sides of the road, and there was minor structural damage to the roof |of a home. The tornado moved northeast and dissipated in forest land |as it approached Kellyville Road.

A tornado was spotted near the intersection of Highway 421 and |Blueberry Road, snapping a few 16 diameter pine trees just west of |Highway 421. It moved to the northeast across a tributary of the |Northeast Cape Fear River, strengthened as it moved along Clarks |Landing Road. Numerous large trees were snapped, and several |outbuildings were heavily damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs was |minor to moderate. The tornado reached peak intensity as it |approached and crossed Highway 210. Four power poles were snapped, |and a few dozen hard and softwood trees were snapped a few feet from|the ground. The tornado crossed Scott Road, and blew in two bay |doors of the Pender Fire Station #21.The garage door of a home |across the street from the fire station was also blown in. The |tornado continued to the northeast, causing mainly minor tree damage|as it approached Little Kelly Road. Along Little Kelly Road, the |roof of a large well-built metal out-building was blown off and |landed approximately 50 yards away, and numerous trees were snapped |on both sides of the road. The tornado dissipated as it moved |northeast and approached Kellyville Road.

A tornado was spotted near the intersection of Highway 421 and |Blueberry Road, snapping a few 16 diameter pine trees just west of |Highway 421. It moved to the northeast across a tributary of the |Northeast Cape Fear River, strengthened as it moved along Clarks |Landing Road. Numerous large trees were snapped, and several |outbuildings were heavily damaged or destroyed. Damage to roofs was |minor to moderate. The tornado reached peak intensity as it |approached and crossed Highway 210. Four power poles were snapped, |and a few dozen hard and softwood trees were snapped a few feet from|the ground. The tornado crossed Scott Road, and blew in two bay |doors of the Pender Fire Station #21.The garage door of a home |across the street from the fire station was also blown in. The |tornado continued to the northeast, causing mainly minor tree damage|as it approached Little Kelly Road. Along Little Kelly Road, the |roof of a large well-built metal out-building was blown off and |landed approximately 50 yards away, and numerous trees were snapped |on both sides of the road. The tornado dissipated as it moved |northeast and approached Kellyville Road.

Power lines were blown down on Stag Park Rd.

Several trees and tree limbs were knocked down and one large tree was uprooted along Shiloh Road and Lake Road. Some trees fell onto power lines. A large field of corn was also blown down.

Several trees and tree limbs were knocked down and one large tree was uprooted along Shiloh Road and Lake Road. Some trees fell onto power lines. A large field of corn was also blown down.

A tree was reported down on a power line at the intersection of Highway 11 and Red Tip Lane. The time was estimated based on radar data.

A National Weather Service Storm Survey Team concluded a microburst with winds to 70 mph downed numerous trees. The tops of some of the trees were twisted. Power lines were also reported down. The damage occurred along Stag Park Road and extended for a little over one mile.

Tropical storm Ernesto made landfall on the eastern coast of Brunswick county near 10:30 pm EST on August 31st. The maximum wind speed was recorded at Wrightsville Beach at 74 mph. A 66 mph wind gusts was recorded at Kure Beach and at Bald Head Island the peak wind was 65 mph. Anemometers across the of southeast North Carolina recorded lesser wind speeds, with wind gusts averaging between 35-50 mph. Thousands of residents lost power at the height of the storm. During the early morning hours Ernesto moved north, and Tropical Storm warnings were lowered for southeast North Carolina at 7:00 am EST, September 1st. Most of the property damage was due to rainfall and fresh water flooding, with little structural damage from wind. Many roads in Brunswick county were impassable. Rainfall storm totals ranged from 4.5 inches in Columbus county to nearly 12 inches along the coast of Pender county. In Pender county, the Northeast Cape Fear river crested at 16.7 feet, almost 7 feet above the flood stage of 10 feet. This was the second highest crest on record, exceeded only by Hurricane Floyd at 22.5 feet. Flooding on the Northeast Cape Fear river caused 1600 people to evacuate near the town of Burgaw, including the Birch Creek and River Bend communities. The heavy rains contributed to multiple sewer spills, most notable in New Hanover county. Crop damage was extensive, particularly in Columbus and Pender counties. In Pender county, over 12000 acres of corn were destroyed, 13000 acres of soybeans, 7000 acres of cotton, and 760 acres of tobacco were also damaged. Thousands of turkeys and chickens were also lost due to the tropical storm. Along the coast, storm surge was less than 3 ft. Beach erosion was minor to moderate, with some dune loss mainly at Topsail Island.* Refer to August Storm Data for damage estimates.

Ernesto moved off the Florida coast at Cape Canaveral on the morning of August 31st, and reached tropical storm strength by late morning while off the Georgia coast. Tropical storm Ernesto made landfall on the eastern coast of Brunswick county near 10:30 pm EST. The maximum wind speed was recorded at Wrightsville Beach at 74 mph. A 66 mph wind gusts was recorded at Kure Beach and at Bald Head Island the peak wind was 65 mph. Anemometers across the of southeast North Carolina recorded lesser wind speeds, with wind gusts averaging between 35-50 mph. Thousands of residents lost power at the height of the storm. During the early morning hours Ernesto moved north, and Tropical Storm warnings were lowered for southeast North Carolina at 7:00 am EST, September 1st. Most of the property damage was due to rainfall and fresh water flooding, with little structural damage from wind. Rainfall storm totals ranged from 4.5 inches in Columbus county to nearly 12 inches along the coast of Pender county. In Pender county, the Northeast Cape Fear river crested at 16.7 feet, almost 7 feet above the flood stage of 10 feet. This was the second highest crest on record, exceeded only by Hurricane Floyd at 22.5 feet. Flooding on the Northeast Cape Fear river caused 1600 people to evacuate near the town of Burgaw, including the Birch Creek and River Bend communities. The heavy rains contributed to multiple sewer spills, most notable in New Hanover county. Crop damage was extensive, particularly in Columbus and Pender counties. In Pender county, over 12000 acres of corn were destroyed, 13000 acres of soybeans, 7000 acres of cotton, and 760 acres of tobacco were also damaged. Thousands of turkeys and chickens were also lost due to the tropical storm. Along the coast, storm surge was less than 3 ft. Beach erosion was minor to moderate, with some dune loss mainly at Topsail Island.

On September 12th, Hurricane Warnings were issued from South Santee river to Cape Lookout...with Ophelia centered about 140 miles SSE of Myrtle Beach SC. At 11 am on the 14th...Category 1 Ophelia was centered about 25 miles southeast of Cape Fear. The large eyewall (50 miles in diameter) was over New Hanover...Pender and Brunswick counties...with hurricane strength wind gusts reported at Wrightsville Beach. (79 mph). There were unofficial reports of wind gusts to 84 mph at Bald Head Island and Kure Beach. No other stations reported a measured gust to hurricane strength...with most observing stations reporting wind gusts between 35 to 50 mph. Rainfall was heaviest in the eastern portion of Brunswick county...with over 17 inches reported. 12 inches was observed on the Sep 14th...and 5 inches on the 13th...in advance of the hurricane. Average rainfall over Brunswick...New Havover...and Pender counties ranged from 6 to 10 inches. Hurricane warnings over South Carolina were lowered to Tropical Storm warnings by 11am on the 14th...with warnings dropped entirely over South Carolina by 5 pm. The storm continued to track slowly northeast...with all warnings in the Cape Fear region dropped around 5 am on September 15th.Damage over the area was mainly minor roof damage and flooding...over flood prone areas. In Topsail Beach, cosmetic damage was reported to 350 homes. Flooding closed major thoroughfares...especially from Shallotte river to Supply. There were moderate reports of downed trees...and the utility company reported over 51,000 people without power at the height of the storm. Beach erosion was also a problem. A longshore current gouged a 5 ft escarpment along the coast of New Hanover and Pender counties. Damage to the area and the cost for clean up would be $6 million for Pender and New Hanover counties...with $2.3 million for Brunswick county. Most of the money would go to the cleanup of storm debris.

A utility company reported trees down on power lines.

Powerful low pressure offshore brought flooding rains to portions of the Cape Fear Region as well as strong winds and even some very light wintry precipitation. The ground was already fairly well saturated and so 2 to 3 inches of rain was enough to cause renewed flooding.