Hoke County Schools has announced they will release students early Wednesday, Sept. 12 and be closed Thursday and Friday due to potential impact from Hurricane Florence. Early release Wednesday will be 11:30 a.m. for elementary schools and 12:30 p.m. for the middle and high schools.
-Catharin
The news of Hoke County, North Carolina since 1904
Tuesday, September 11, 2018
Monday, September 10, 2018
Hoke County opening shelter Wednesday night
Hoke County will open a shelter at West Hoke Middle School beginning at 6 p.m. Wednesday, September 12 for people seeking refuge from Hurricane Florence. The shelter will be pet friendly according to emergency management director Bryan Marley. Exact details on what to bring and what not to bring with you to the shelter will be made available by the county tomorrow (Tuesday) through a website that county staff is preparing that will also include other vital information. We'll link you to that as soon as it's available!
The county commissioners tonight approved a budget amendment for emergency funding in advance of the storm, and approved a request from County Manager Letitia Edens to close county offices on Thursday due to the impending inclement weather.
The county's emergency operations center (EOC) is preparing for the hurricane as well. A phone line with automated information will be available at (910) 848-4645, and a staffed phone line will be available at (910) 848-4646.
County departments are meeting again tomorrow morning.
-Catharin
North Carolina Fall Festival Rescheduled
The NC Fall Festival that was planned for this week has been rescheduled for November, according to an email from director Melissa Pittman.
Thursday, November 1 - Parade
Friday, November 2 - Stuffin' and Stompin' Dinner
Saturday, November 3 - Big Day of Festival (vendors, entertainment, Kidz Zone and Car Show). IF the entertainment booked for the Concerts after downtown events are over, are still available, those concerts will be held on November 3 as well.
Vendors can either attend on the rescheduled date or have their payment for this year go toward the 2019 Festival.
"If you are unable to come on November 3 please let me know so that your spot can be filled with vendors on a waiting list. Unfortunately, a Hurricane is a little more than rain and there is nothing we can do but what is best for the safety of our citizens, participants and those who attend." -Melissa Pittman
-Catharin
Storm Surge
Dr. Jeff Masters is now predicting a storm surge along the N.C. coast of 15-20 feet.
From Weather Underground:
If Florence hits the coast of North or South Carolina as a Category 3 or stronger hurricane, we should expect to see record storm surge heights, with a 15 – 20' surge very possible, according to two experts I communicated with today. Dr. Robert Young, Professor of Coastal Geology at Western Carolina University, says that "the track of Hurricane Florence, combined with its expected size and strength at landfall and the unique coastal geomorphology of the region, is likely to result in a record storm surge along portions of the warning area." And according to storm surge expert Dr. Hal Needham, "we could definitely see a 20+ foot storm surge/storm tide in the Carolinas. Even if Florence weakens a bit in the time right before landfall, the surge heights correlate better with the pre-landfall winds than the winds at landfall."
Full story:
Shelter Plans And Water Station Generators
Hoke County is looking at opening a shelter at West Hoke Middle School beginning Wednesday night, but officials are still in the process of coordinating with Hoke County Schools on those preparations, County Manager Letitia Edens said this afternoon. The shelter will be operated by Hoke County Department of Social Services and Health Department employees, with food provided by the American Red Cross. More info on final plans for the shelter is expected by tomorrow.
In response to a question we've been getting – per the county manager, the county's water pumping stations either have backup generators in place now, or will have them by close of business tomorrow before the storm closes in. This was an issue for county water customers during Hurricane Matthew in 2016, as loss of electricity due to damage to LREMC's lines caused power outages for the water system and resulted in many people without water service for several days.
However: as stated by emergency management, Hoke citizens still need to be prepared in the event that water and electricity service goes out. Director Bryan Marley advises citizens need to have enough food, water and other supplies on hand to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours after the storm.
-Catharin
Turkey Bowl high school football game postponed
The Turkey Bowl football game of Hoke High Bucks vs. Lumberton that was scheduled for Friday has been postponed due to the potential inclement weather, organizers said.
-Catharin
-Catharin
Update on bottled water stocks
Trying to buy bottled water in Hoke County? So is everyone else.
Walmart in Raeford got in 19 pallets of water today and it all sold in 40 minutes, according to staff. A staff member at Walmart reports they do expect to get a truck of water in every day until the storm, and for the moment they are limiting purchases to three cases of water per customer.
Staff at Food Lion on Cole Avenue report they just got a shipment of bread in this afternoon and are sold out of water but do expect a shipment of it (no ETA at the moment though).
Staff at Food Lion on U.S. 401 report they also got in a shipment of water and immediately sold out. They also expect more shipments on the way.
Raeford Hardware Store does have generators in stock.
Local stores are very busy, so expect long lines and possible shortages. Some residents in neighboring counties are also reporting that gasoline is starting to become scarce.
If you can't get your hands on bottled water at a store, remember that you can use your own food-safe containers and bottles and fill them up at the tap at home, or use water-tight ziplock type plastic bags to hold water and/or ice. Filling the bathtub before the storm can provide water for washing. Guidelines suggest having at least 1 gallon of water per person per day, for at least three days.
If you have your own preparedness tips, you can share them below in a comment!
-Catharin
Hoke County Commissioners Emergency Meeting
The Hoke County Board of Commissioners will meet in emergency session this afternoon at 5 p.m. for storm-related preparations.
-Catharin
-Catharin
Hoke County Declares State of Emergency
The Hoke County Board of Commissioners has declared a state of emergency for Hoke County ahead of Hurricane Florence. North Carolina is also under a state-wide state of emergency, declared by the governor's office. http://www.hokecounty.org/DocumentCenter/View/1174
Hoke County Schools public relations director Jodie Bryant reports that the school system is monitoring the situation closely. We should know more about closures and cancellations by Tuesday, Sept. 11.
-Catharin, 12:30 p.m.
11 a.m. Update 9-10-18
The latest track forecast for Florence again doesn't look good. The upshot, from Dr. Jeff Masters of Weather Underground:
"Florence is in the midst of an impressive rapid intensification cycle, and is destined to strengthen into a very dangerous Category 4 hurricane by Tuesday as it heads towards the Southeast U.S. Coast. Florence is likely to make landfall on Thursday evening or Friday morning on the coast of North Carolina or South Carolina, and the odds continue to increase that Florence will stall on Friday and meander near or over the coast for several days, making the hurricane a devastating rainfall and coastal flooding threat."
Additionally, he writes:
"The models continue to come into better agreement on the track and speed of Florence, and on Monday morning, all of the forecasts from our top five models agreed that Florence would hit North Carolina or South Carolina on Thursday evening or Friday morning. The exact location of Florence's landfall is still fuzzy, as the average error in a 3-day and 4-day NHC forecasts are about 120 miles and 160 miles, respectively. While we do still have a few members of the GFS and European ensemble forecasts predicting that Florence will stall just off the coast and never make landfall, I put the odds of a Florence landfall on the U.S. East Coast at 90%."
The center of the forecast track *at this point* has the hurricane roughly centered over us as Cat 1. We need to watch carefully.
If you want to read Masters' complete post it's at
2018 Florence Storm Info: first up, N.C. Fall Festival.
We'll be posting storm information as warranted beginning today.
First up: The N.C. Fall Festival is being postponed. That includes the parade Thursday, and all events Friday and Saturday. We'll publish the new dates once we hear, which should be in the next 24 hours.
First up: The N.C. Fall Festival is being postponed. That includes the parade Thursday, and all events Friday and Saturday. We'll publish the new dates once we hear, which should be in the next 24 hours.
Monday, October 5, 2015
Dodged the bullet in Hoke
The latest (and final) advisory from Freddy Johnson, director of the Hoke Sheriff's Office Emergency Management division:
Again we managed very well here in Hoke County over the weekend, and below is the summary from today's NWS briefing slides. The Summary speaks for itself – Enjoy the rest of the week and most certainly be safe in all your endeavors.
NWS - Summary, Highlights, & Climate
• NC really dodged a bullet!!!!
• Widespread 3-6 inches of rainfall will help alleviate the drought conditions.
• Today(Monday)will be the last gloomy/drizzly day!!!
• Sunny skies FINALLY return on Tuesday-
Wednesday!
• Seasonable temperatures for the remainder of the week…continuing into the weekend.
• Weak cold front will move through Central NC late Friday/Friday night…bringing light
precipitation chances to the area.
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Latest info from EMS
From Freddy Johnson, director of Emergency Management at the Hoke Sheriffs Office:
So far we have fared very well here in Hoke County. We experienced some minor power outages that were quickly mitigated by the Power Company. We had reports of just 3 trees down with another tree down due to a motor vehicle accident. The eastern part of Hoke County remains under a flash flood watch until 8 PM Sunday. Rockfish Creek is at flood stage and with the additional rain predicted for tomorrow could pose a problem for possible flooding in our eastern part of the county. My staff is out checking our Lake levels as well as our earthen dams to see what the affects will be with the additional participation expected tomorrow. (A dam breached early this morning in South Carolina bordering Brunswick County the water went down stream forcing evacuations in both SC and Brunswick County North Carolina they have quite a mess there with Emergency Service Workers busy with evacuations, security and Sheltering operations)
According to the NWS we can expect maybe another 2 to 2.5 inches of rain tomorrow. With hit and miss or very isolated rain reported for the remainder of today.
Depending on where you live within Hoke County the rain amounts vary. Here at our office according to our DAVIS Weather Station have received 8.65 inches of rain since the storm started on 9-24-2015, with 3.86 inches of that amount in October.
Sent from my iPhone
Saturday 11 AM NWS Weather Briefing
Good morning everyone –
Just finished our Eastern Branch Office conference call and I wanted to provide a quick update. So far we have fared very well here in Hoke County. We experienced some minor power outages that were quickly mitigated by the Power Company. We had reports of just 3 trees down with another tree down due to a motor vehicle accident. The eastern part of Hoke County remains under a flash flood watch until 8 PM Sunday. Rockfish Creek is at flood stage and with the additional rain predicted for tomorrow could pose a problem for possible flooding in our eastern part of the county. My staff is out checking our Lake levels as well as our earthen dams to see what the affects will be with the additional participation expected tomorrow. (A dam breached early this morning in South Carolina bordering Brunswick County the water went down stream forcing evacuations in both SC and Brunswick County North Carolina they have quite a mess there with Emergency Service Workers busy with evacuations, security and Sheltering operations)
According to the NWS we can expect maybe another 2 to 2.5 inches of rain tomorrow. With hit and miss or very isolated rain reported for the remainder of today.
Depending on where you live within Hoke County the rain amounts vary. Here at our office according to our DAVIS Weather Station have received 8.65 inches of rain since the storm started on 9-24-2015, with 3.86 inches of that amount in October.
Enjoy the remainder of your weekend and be safe in all you’re activities – Unless there is a significant event this may be our last weekend update. NC EM has canceled all conference calls for tomorrow –
As always my numbers are listed should you have any questions -
Update on flooding
From the National Weather Service in Wilmington:
AS OF 400 AM SATURDAY...MOSAIC RADAR AND SATELLITE DATA ARE TRENDING GRADUALLY TOWARD THE FORECAST EXPECTATION OF A SPATIAL SHIFT IN THE HEAVY RAIN AXIS ALONG A CHARLESTON TO COLUMBIA TO GREENVILLE SC TRACK. A FLOOD WATCH HOWEVER WILL REMAIN INTACT ACROSS SE NC AND NE SC AS GROUNDS ARE EXCEEDINGLY SOGGY AND ANY ADDITIONAL RAINFALL WILL RAPIDLY LEAD TO DRAINAGE WOES. APPEARS SE NC WILL EXPERIENCE A LULL THIS MORNING AS PROBLEMATIC RAINS SHIFT TOWARD CENTRAL AND WESTERN SC. THE ALLEVIATION OF RAINFALL HOWEVER LOOKS TO BE BRIEF AS ADDITIONAL TORRENTS OFF THE OCEAN MIGRATE LANDWARD THIS AFTERNOON ACROSS THE REGION. SIGNALS IN SEVERAL OF THE MODELS SUGGEST ANOTHER BREAK IN +SHRA MAY UNFOLD TONIGHT...FOLLOWED BY AN ONSLAUGHT OF DOWNPOURS INTO EARLY SUNDAY MORNING.
and from The National Weather Service in Raleigh:
...ANY MAINSTEM RIVER FLOODING THIS WEEKEND WILL BE MINOR... RIVER FLOOD WARNINGS REMAIN IN EFFECT THIS WEEKEND FOR THE HAW AND UPPER NEUSE RIVER BASINS FOR MINOR FLOODING WHICH REACHES OR EXCEEDS THE FLOOD STAGE BY A FEW FEET AT MOST. SEE WATER.WEATHER.GOV FOR DETAILS AT INDIVIDUAL RIVER FORECAST POINTS. THE AXIS OF HEAVIER RAIN OVER EASTERN NC THIS AFTERNOON IS EXPECTED TO PIVOT WEST...WITH MUCH LESS ADDITIONAL RAINFALL ON SATURDAY. EXPECTED ADDITIONAL RAINFALL THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING IS EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM <2 INCHES IN THE EAST TO 3-4 INCHES IN THE WEST. THIS REDUCTION IN THE AMOUNT OF RAIN EXPECTED LATER IN THE EVENT WILL GREATLY REDUCE THE CHANCE OF SIGNIFICANT MAINSTEM RIVER FLOODING... AS WHILE THE TOPSOIL (SEE 0-10CM & 0-200CM RELATIVE SOIL MOISTURE FROM NASA HTTP://WEATHER.MSFC.NASA.GOV/SPORT) IS APPROACHING SATURATION...THE DEEPER SOIL COLUMN HAS NOT RECOVERED...CONTAINING <50% OF THE MOISTURE REQUIRED FOR SATURATION. AS SUCH...THERE IS STILL PLENTY OF STORAGE AVAILABLE IN THE DEEPER SOILS WHICH WILL REDUCE RUNOFF...ESPECIALLY IF THE RAINFALL RATE IS NOT HIGH. THERE WILL STILL BE A THREAT OF FLASH FLOODING...FOR AS NOTED ABOVE...THE UPPER SOIL IS NEAR SATURATION SO HEAVIER RAINFALL WOULD PRODUCE VERY SWIFT RUNOFF INTO SMALL STREAMS OR LOW-LYING AREAS...AND PARTICULARLY IN URBAN AREAS. IN THE MEDIUM RANGE...THERE IS A CHANCE THAT THE HEAVY RAIN THREAT COULD ROTATE AROUND THE UPPER TROF AND BACK ACROSS THE AREA ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY. THERE IS NOT HIGH CONFIDENCE IN POTENTIAL AMOUNTS AT THIS TIME...AND WE WILL NEED TO ASSESS OUR HYDROLOGIC STATUS AFTER THIS FIRST ROUND OF RAINFALL...STAY TUNED.
Friday, October 2, 2015
Weather Update
From Freddy Johnson, Emergency Services director:
Thursday, October 1, 2015
1 in 1000 year event
From Weather Underground:
An extremely strong conveyor belt of moisture will stream into the Carolinas over the next several days, aided by moisture from Hurricane Joaquin as it turns to the north in the Atlantic Ocean. While the higher elevations of South Carolina will experience the most rain, upwards of 18 inches of rainfall will fall on parts of the Carolinas. This could create an historic flooding event that NOAA is calling a 1 in 1000 year event. Residents are urged to take precautions to protect life and property.
Flash Flood Watch
From the National Weather Service:
... Flash Flood Watch remains in effect from 8 PM EDT this evening
through Sunday evening...
The Flash Flood Watch continues for
* a portion of central North Carolina... including the following
Alamance... Anson... Chatham... Cumberland... Davidson... Durham...
Edgecombe... Forsyth... Franklin... Granville... Guilford...
Halifax... Harnett... Hoke... Johnston... Lee... Montgomery...
Moore... Nash... Orange... person... Randolph... Richmond...
Sampson... Scotland... Stanly... Vance... wake... Warren... Wayne
... and Wilson.
* From 8 PM EDT this evening through Sunday evening
* storm total rain... widespread 3 to 6 inches with locally higher
amounts possible... especially across the western Piedmont.
* Timing... heavy rain will spread west into the coastal plain
overnight and into the central Piedmont Friday morning. The
heavy rain will gradually shift westward into the western
Piedmont through the day on Friday and into Friday night.
* Wind... sustained at 10 to 20 mph with gusts as high as 30 mph
will be possible Friday and again on Saturday.
Precautionary/preparedness actions...
A Flash Flood Watch means conditions may become favorable for
flash flooding. Residents living in flood prone areas should
closely monitor the forecast for this weekend... and be prepared
to take action if flooding occurs or flash flood warnings are
issued.
Latest Rainfall Estimates
Latest rainfall estimates for three days from the National Weather Service:
5 Inches of Rain Possible
From The National Weather Service… heavy rain possible
SHORT TERM /FRIDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT/... AS OF 330 AM THURSDAY...THE INTERACTION BETWEEN MID TO UPPER TROUGH...A LINGERING FRONT/TROUGH AND TROPICAL MOISTURE FROM JOAQUIN WILL CREATE AN UNSETTLED FORECAST WITH PLENTY OF CLOUDS AND HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL THROUGH MUCH OF THE PERIOD. DUE TO THE DURATION AND INTENSITY OF THE RAIN AT TIMES...POTENTIAL FOR UPWARDS OF 5 INCHES OF RAIN IS POSSIBLE IN PLACES ACROSS THE CAROLINAS. A FLOOD WATCH WILL BE ONGOING AT THE START OF FRIDAY. OFFICIAL NHC FORECAST HAS CLOSEST APPROACH OF JOAQUIN SAT EVENING WHICH AT THIS POINT IS ROUGHLY 200 MILES OFF THE CAPE FEAR COAST. THE LATEST GFS FORECAST HAS JUMPED FARTHER EAST WITH CLOSEST APPROACH SAT NIGHT ABOUT 400 MILES EAST OF CAPE FEAR WHILE THE ECMWF WAS SLOWER AND FARTHER EAST. WILL NEED TO KEEP A CLOSE WATCH ON THE EXACT TRACK OF HURRICANE JOAQUIN...BUT EITHER WAY THIS SYSTEM WILL AFFECT THE AREA DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY. FOR NOW IT LOOKS LIKE THE MID TO UPPER LOW WILL NOT PULL JOAQUIN INTO THE CAROLINAS BUT WILL INSTEAD GUIDE IT UP TO THE NORTH THROUGH THE OFF SHORE WATERS.
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