Wilmington, N.C. – Tropical Storm Ernesto made landfall on the southern North Carolina coast late Thursday, coming ashore with heavy rains but sustained winds that fell just short of hurricane levels.
The storm’s official arrival near Long Beach in Brunswick County came near the end of a long day of rain in the eastern half of North Carolina.
Ernesto’s leading edge dumped more than 8 inches of rain on the Wilmington area – a record for Aug. 31, according to the National Weather Service.
And it sparked fears that even in a state that has seen widespread drought this summer, the rain might be too much of a good thing.
“We need some rain around here – just not all at once,” said Jean Evans, who works at a convenience store on North Carolina’s Holden Beach.
Ernesto’s center made landfall at 11:30 p.m. with sustained winds near 70 mph, 4 mph short of hurricane strength. The storm’s tropical-force winds extended up to 145 miles from the center, mainly to the east.
Its northern bands had already drenched the states’ eastern counties starting in the midafternoon, prompting dozens of flood, tornado and storm warnings and watches.
Virginia’s governor declared a state of emergency and forecasters issued a hurricane watch from the South Santee River in South Carolina to Cape Lookout, about 50 miles east of Jacksonville, as the storm approached.
Just a day earlier, Ernesto had been downgraded to a tropical depression, not even making the grade as a tropical storm.
The National Hurricane Center warned of a storm surge of 3 feet to 5 feet in the Carolinas.
The National Park Service closed some facilities on the Outer Banks, including two campgrounds near Cape Hatteras. The Coast Guard closed ports at Wilmington and Morehead City in anticipation of gale-force wind.
In a region that has a long acquaintance with violent tropical storms, Ernesto’s wind was less a concern than the threat of flooding.
Central and parts of eastern North Carolina were already soaked by thunderstorms that began Wednesday afternoon.
Ernesto briefly reached hurricane strength Sunday but lost much of its punch crossing mountainous eastern Cuba and was a tropical storm of about 45 mph by the time it blew ashore in Florida on Tuesday night. It weakened further as it moved over the state.
Its winds increased steadily through the day Thursday from around 40 mph overnight as the storm drew energy from the warm water.
“In the world of meteorology, it’s just one surprise after another,” said Tom Matheson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington.
