Hurricane Arthur was the first named storm of the hurricane season, making landfall in North Carolina last Thursday and affecting the northeast United States and southeast Canada. The storm’s 100 mph wind speeds and heavy rain reminded residents of coastal areas always to remain vigilant during hurricane season.

 

Hurricane Arthur, the first named storm of the hurricane season and the first to hit the United States since Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, made landfall in North Carolina Thursday, July 3, as a Category 2 hurricane. Arthur disrupted the region’s Independence Day celebrations before it weakened to a Category 1 and then a post-tropical storm as it moved along the northeast and affected parts of Canada on Saturday.

Despite the initial 100 mph winds, Arthur didn’t do much damage to homes or businesses in North Carolina, but it did manage to spoil the holiday weekend for many—4^th of July parades and firework shows were cancelled due to the heavy rain.

Additionally, an estimated 44,000 people were without power the next morning. However, the damage was mitigated fairly quickly, with only 5,000 people left without power by that same afternoon.

No injuries or deaths were reported after the storm.

“We’ve always felt that it was better to overreact than underreact,” said North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, “Gladly this storm was more underwhelming than anticipated, which was very good news.”

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