More than 131,000 still without power in NC after Tropical Storm Zeta’s strong winds
At least 131,000 utility customers in North Carolina were without power Friday afternoon, a day after Tropical Storm Zeta battered the state with strong winds.
Electricity is being restored after Duke Energy says the storm on Thursday “snapped utility poles and ripped down power lines.”
Zeta knocked out power to more than 500,000 of the company’s customers in the Carolinas — around 10% of the people it serves in the region. Another provider, Haywood Electric Membership Corp., said it had more than 10,000 affected customers.
The storm was a Category 2 hurricane when it slammed into the Gulf Coast near Cocodrie, Louisiana, on Wednesday afternoon.
Zeta had tropical storm strength as it moved northeast, lashing parts of North Carolina with heavy rain and powerful winds. Fallen trees and power lines were reported in Charlotte and other areas.
As of 3 p.m. Friday, there were more than 27,000 power outages in Forsyth County and 8,000 in Guilford County, both in the Triad. Other areas with the most outages were in the western part of the state and near Charlotte, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety.
Zeta, now downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, continued its path northeast and was off the Atlantic coast as of about 4:30 p.m. Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
This story was originally published October 30, 2020 at 8:34 AM.
