On Saturday, September 25th, Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall near Emerald Isle, North Carolina around 6:30 am. With winds just shy of being considered hurricane status, Ophelia brought major flooding, power outages, and strong winds to much of the East Coast.
Governors from North Carolina, Maryland, and Virginia all declared states of emergency on Friday to prepare for the storm, CBS news reported.
Ophelia was downgraded to a tropical depression on Saturday night by the National Hurricane Center, lifting the Tropical Storm Warning for Hampton Roads, according to 13News Now.
Areas such as Hampton, Virginia Beach, and Norfolk still had significant flooding. As for Newport News, wind and light rain were already arriving by Friday afternoon, strengthening as the day went on. Public schools in CNU’s surrounding counties, including York county and Newport News City, had an early release day on Friday in preparation for the storm.
Wavy News 10 reported that in Kiln Creek, a neighborhood close to campus, there were power outages due to a tree that had fallen on a power line.
Specifically at Christopher Newport University, there were reports of power flickering on East Campus Friday night, with a WiFi outage Saturday morning. Outside of some deep puddles around the Luter 2 Construction, there was no flooding on campus. However, downed tree limbs could be seen around campus, and the mulch under some trees was clearly disturbed.
The Washington Post reported some of the most impressive rain and wind gusts the storm brought took place in Virginia. The Hampton Roads area and Chesapeake had a total of about 5 inches of rainfall, and Cape Henry, VA, saw 61 mph wind gusts.
Dominion Energy reported that the tropical storm caused more than 113,000 power outages between Virginia and North Carolina alone.
According to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin is June 1st through November 30th, with peak activity falling around September 10th. However, activity can also occur outside of those dates.
