Strong winds expected to bring flooding Thursday morning

The threat of flooding and high winds caused schools to close early Wednesday in Craven and Pamlico counties, and the National Weather Service said people in low-lying areas should expect flooding early Thursday morning.

"The flooding will not be from rain, but rather from peak winds," said meterologist Chris Collins of the National Weather Service in Newport.

He said Wednesday evening that water levels should rise 3 to 5 feet above normal Thursday  morning during high tide.

Public schools in Craven and Pamlico counties closed at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Craven County schools plan to delay opening by two hours Thursday morning. The Pamlico schools had not announced whether schools would be delayed.

Stanley Kite, Craven County Emergency Management Services director pinpointed Adam's Creek, Slocum Creek, Club Foot Creek, and Cahooqe Creek as areas where residents can expect to see flooding.

He said Broad Creek and the Trent River and the upper portions of the Neuse River could experience flooding. He said areas along the Neuse River in New Bern and Bridgeton could also get some flooding.

He said Adam's Creek Road could flood and some people could be stranded at their homes because of flooded roadways.

Kite said the situation should improve after 6:30 a.m. today. Kite said winds of 45 mph and gusting to 50 mph were expected.

He reported that Oaks Road in New Bern closed at 3:40 p.m. Motorists were detouring using Simmons Street and Neuse Boulevard.

New Bern Public Works director Danny Meadows said city crews will perform clean-up operations when the water levels go down.

A legislative breakfast scheduled for West Craven High School at 7:30 a.m. today has been postponed.

An Associated Press report said forecasters expected a nor'easter to develop along the Carolinas coast Wednesday and Thursday,  but were concerned that the system instead might become a tropical storm.

The low-pressure system was about 250 miles southeast of Wilmington. Forecasters expect the storm to move west-northwest over the next few days.

Richard Pasch of the National Hurricane Center said there already are winds of up to 65 mph in parts of the storm.

North Carolina State Highway Patrol Trooper J.D. Leitschue said motorist should use lane control while driving across high-rise bridges. "Be cautious of traffic on the bridge around you. Watch for blowing debris on the bridge," Leitschue said.

David Spruill Pamlico County Emergency Management Services director said water was across Hodges Street.

"We anticipate minor flooding in the low lying areas including Lowlands," he said.

Rain was expected to move in Wednesday night and continue until this morning, bringing 2 to 4 inches.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 Adams Creek residents keep wary eyes on the wind

By Drew C. Wilson

FreedomENC

HAVELOCK - Great Neck resident Steve Foster stood in his yard at the edge of a frothy Neuse River on Wednesday holding a weather radio.

Waves washed over the deck boards on a small pier at the edge of his property.

"I think this is all we're going to get. It's probably three feet above normal," Foster said.

Foster estimated that the wind might be blowing 25 to 35 mph from the northeast.

Some 250 miles southeast, a storm was brewing in the Atlantic, bringing the high winds to the North Carolina coast and the threat of flooding along the Neuse River.

The National Hurricane Center said that the system had a high potential of becoming a tropical or subtropical cyclone later Wednesday or today as it drifted west closer to the coast.

Winds were predicted to gust up to 45 mph in the Havelock area, higher along the Neuse River and along areas of the Carteret County coast. Anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of rain could fall, according to the National Weather Service.

Along Adams Creek Road, volunteer fireman and Craven County Commissioner Theron McCabe was pounding stakes into the shoulder of the road near a flooded marshy area that is one of the first to flood when the wind blows hard from the northeast.

"This is the only way in or out," McCabe said as he used the handle of an ax to measure the water depth.

"We put these stakes in here so we can tell where the road is if we have to get in here," he said. "I think it could come up another couple of feet tonight."

Toward the end of Belangia Road and Godfrey Boulevard, waves from the Neuse were pounding into bulkheads sending spray into the air.

Diane Bruton, who lives across the street, said her family keeps a small sailboat down on the beach there, but moved it to higher ground in anticipation of rising waters.

"The wind is blowing. That's the news," she said. "We just moved here in June and we haven't seen it blow like this before.

"We've been watching the water, and as you can see it's splashing over the bulkhead. It looks like the ocean, doesn't it?"

This particular area of lower Craven County had severe flooding from Hurricane Isabel in 2003.

"When Isabel came, the water was up to that deck," Foster said indicating the house behind him. "It didn't quite get into the cottage though."

His next-door neighbor's house "floated off its foundation," Foster said. "It's sitting there just where it came down."