Hurricane Bonnie invaded the North Carolina coast with destructive fury, moving slowly inland with 115-mph winds and lashing rains, downing trees and power lines and threatening residents with a two-day assault. Bonnie hit the shore at Cape Fear and, slowing its forward motion markedly, passed through Wilmington and on toward Jacksonville another 60 miles up the coast. Howling winds also pummeled other coastal communities, including this vacation town of Morehead City, as the storm powered its way in a northeasterly arc. The Wilmington area turned into a disaster zone, although no serious injuries were reported in the first hours. Water pushed up by the winds flooded highways. Uprooted trees lay across roads and fallen power lines crackled. Rain fell in almost horizontal sheets, and the few people who were out looked as if they were about to blow away, bracing themselves against vehicles as their clothes billowed around them. With power out in more than 300,000 homes, authorities imposed night-long curfews in Wilmington, Morehead City and as far inland as Greenville, where flooding was reported. The long hang time, more of it over land than originally forecast, raised chances of extensive damage from high tides, flooding and rain. Rainfall levels of as much as 20 inches were expected up and down the coast, storm surges of 9 to 10 feet threatened water damage, and other twisters spinning off the storm were possible in eastern North Carolina. Nearly half a million residents and vacationers from 17 North Carolina coastal counties were evacuated, according to state emergency management officials, leaving low-lying areas almost deserted. True to its unpredictable nature, Bonnie, a Category 3 hurricane with the potential for extensive damage, continued to defy forecasts, slowing up as it approached the mainland and turned slightly northward, missing its projected landfall by several hours. Moreover, Bonnie's approach coincided with two high tides -- one occurring on south-facing beaches below Ocracoke Island, and another on east-facing beaches further north -- thereby compounding the effects of the storm surges and dramatically raising the water levels both in the Atlantic Ocean and the sounds. Bill Furney, a spokesman for the state emergency response team, based in Raleigh, said that the dual assaults from Hurricanes Bertha and Fran two years ago alerted residents to the dangerous power of hurricanes. Fran, the last major storm to hit the Wilmington area, in September 1996, plowed through the middle of the state instead of taking an expected northern turn, causing $5.2 billion in damages and 24 deaths. Bertha was a lesser storm.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Above is video coverage from the Weather Channel during Hurricane Bonnie. The video show reports from Wrightsville Beach during the storm and provides footage of some damage around where the film crew was standing. They also show radar progress of the storm as it passes through Eastern North Carolina, and you can see that the eye is directly over Wilmington.
This video is important to Hurricane Bonnie because it gives real time coverage to people who are trying to get information on the storm. The Weather Channel was a life line to many people on the Coast on North Carolina, by watching this footage people were able to know if it was safe to go out or not.
Above is a picture of an old tree that got knocked over during Hurricane Bonnie. The tree landed on a house killing a twelve year old girl. Just this tree alone destroyed a house, a car, and a family’s life.
This picture shows the powerful winds that came along with Hurricane Bonnie. As you can see it must have been howling to uproot this hundred year old tree. This picture also shows the harsh reality and danger that a hurricane can bring.
The link above takes you to a youtube video. The video is taken from an amateur photographer who video tapes the leading up to the hurricane through the next day after the storm already went through taping the damage that was done.
This is a good video because it give you the view of what actually happens when a hurricane come rolling through. This video shows all the work and excitement that is flowing through town the day prior to the storm and it shows peoples reaction to the storm as it hits the coast.
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