Carolina Weather Group

This week, we're hanging virtually at-home with the meteorologist of WLTX News 19 in Columbia, South Carolina. 

Plus: The latest on the tropics with Tropical Storm Nana and Hurricane Omar. The peak of hurricane season is nearing. And a look at your local Carolina weather forecast and our September heat wave. 

And a look at your Carolina Weather news, including the on-going search for 4-year-old Abraham Martinez Jr., who was swept away by flood waters Monday while riding in a car with his mother and sister in Johnston County, North Carolina. We tragically learned Wednesday the body of 5-year-old Alexa Castro was found along a creek near the Neuse River.

Located off the coast of Wilmington,  Tropical Depression Fifteen is luckily moving away from land.

Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (55 km/h) with higher gusts.  The depression is not forecast to strengthen much, but it could become a tropical storm on Tuesday. When it does, it will be given the name Nana.  Little, if any, additional  strengthening is forecast thereafter, and a weakening trend is  expected to begin on Wednesday night. James Brierton has the updated forecast from our Charlotte studio.

Plus, a new survey finds more North Carolinians are troubled by the effects of climate change on hurricane season.

Hurricane Laura, a category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph Wednesday night,  is approaching landfall along the Louisiana / Texas border. Catastrophic, widespread flash flooding and damaging winds will batter the portions of the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisana. Hurricane-force winds and "unsurvivable storm surge" will push miles inland, the National Hurricane Center warns.

The Carolina Weather Group panel held a live broadcast on social media Wednesday night discussing the storm's forecasted impact.

We will also talk about how the North Carolina and South Carolina could be impacted by what-is-then-expected-to-be Tropical Depression Laura this weekend.

The Carolina Weather Group travels to Sparta, North Carolina, the epicenter of Sunday morning's 5.1 magnitude earthquake. A state of emergency has now been declared in Alleghany County after the earthquake, which was the fifth strongest in Carolina history and the strongest since 1916. We talk with meteorologists across the region who recount your stories of: Did you, or did you not, feel it?

Hurricane Isaias is gone but, more likely than not, it could be back in 2026. Scotty Powell, Evan Fisher, and Ricky Matthews look into where names come from for Atlantic ocean tropical storms and hurricanes.  

North Carolina and South Carolina are cleaning up in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias. The storm has been blamed for at least two deaths, damage to countless buildings, and over 200,000 power outages.

From our Charlotte studios, James Brierton has the latest on the storm cleanup, featuring reports from Dan Whittaker in Windsor in Bertie County, Chris Jackson in Cherry Grove, and Ethan Clark at the site of landfall in Ocean Isle.

You'll also hear from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper and other state officials, who held a briefing Tuesday in the aftermath of Isaias.