Tropical Storm in Sampson, North Carolina

Frequent wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph resulted in numerous trees down across Sampson County, including on homes, cars, power lines and damage to structures. Numerous customers lost power in Sampson County as a result of the tropical storm force winds. A 73 year male died(indirect)from his COPD, due to he was without power for his oxygen concentrator. Another death(indirect)occurred when a 62 year old male collapsed after assisting an evacuee to safety.

A ridge of high pressure over eastern North America stalled Florence's forward motion a few miles off the southeast North Carolina coast on September 13th. Hurricane Florence made landfall near Wrightsville Beach early on Saturday September 15, and weakened further as it moved slowly inland. Despite making landfall as a weakened

Category 1 hurricane, Florence still produced 40 to 70 mph wind gusts, enough wind speed to uproot trees and cause widespread power outages throughout the Carolinas. As the storm moved inland, from September 15 to 17, heavy rain of 10 to 25 inches caused widespread inland flooding, inundating cities such as Fayetteville, Smithfield, Goldsboro, Durham, and Chapel Hill, and causing major river flooding on main-stem rivers such as the Neuse, Cape Fear, and Little River. Most major roads and highways in the area experienced some flooding, with large stretches of I-40 and I-95 remaining impassable for days after the storm had passed. The storm also spawned tornadoes in several places along its path. There were 3 direct and 6 indirect deaths attributed to the storm with in the WFO RAH CWA.