Former KESQ anchor Zak Dahlheimer speaks on Hurricane Florence as it nears his North Carolina home
Hurricane Florence spread heavy rain and strong winds into the Carolinas Thursday evening. it is expected to make landfall near the border between North Carolina and South Carolina on Friday.
Florence is a Category 1 storm with a 10-foot storm surge, according to the National Weather Service. Some areas saw the first of the hurricane-force winds Thursday. Cape Lookout reported sustained winds of 83 mph and gusts of 106.
A weather station in Atlantic Beach recorded a total of 12.73 inches for a 24-hour period.
“With this storm, it’s a (Category 1) but the storm surge and the flooding is going to be that of a category 4,” CNN Meteorologist Jennifer Gray said Thursday night.
Former News Channel 3 weekend anchor and I-Team investigator Zak Dahlheimer is reporting for a station in Raleigh, North Carolina. He’s right in the path of Hurricane Florence.
Zak lives about 150 miles from the coast and hasn’t evacuated his home but says is ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
“I think the big thing is having experienced covering this hurricane as well as experiences being out in California covering different natural disasters including wildfires, the big thing is preparedness. That’s big too for people to stay informed, stay prepared and stay on guard no matter what the storm does because how we have seen the storm change this week,” Zak told KESQ & CBS Local 2.
Follow Zak’s reports on Facebook as the hurricane approaches
Zak continued, “I was at the coast this weekend and there was a lot of people saying this could be one of the strongest storms to hit North Carolina in about 20 years.”
Read: Carolina coasts have been hit by plenty of storms, but few major hurricanes
With that in mind and memories of Hurricane Matthew, Zak said that people in the area are prepared for this storm.
Download the KESQ & CBS Local 2 app on iTunes or Google Play for up-to-the-minute breaking news alerts & more
More: I-Team and Stands for You investigations
Find us on Facebook: KESQ News Channel 3 & CBS Local 2
Follow us on Twitter for breaking news updates: @KESQ & @Local2
We’re on Instagram! @KESQ_News_Channel_3 & @CBSLocal2
Noticias en español: Telemundo 15
