On Friday, September 22, 2023, governors of North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland declared they were in a state of emergency as a tropical storm called Ophelia was traveling up the coast, causing strong winds up to 74 miles per hour (mph), heavy rains, and river flooding. People and animals had brushes with danger regarding the flooding , but nobody in the affected areas was hurt or killed.
The near-hurricane storm brought flash floods and power outages from the Mid Atlantic to the North East. On the day the state of emergency was declared, 5 people, including 3 children, had to be rescued in Cape Lookout, North Carolina, by the US Coast Guard before the storm even made landfall. They were finally brought to safety about 3 hours after the owner of the 38 foot catamaran requested to be rescued.
A pit bull had to be rescued from floodwater, and Animal Protection authorities began an investigation. Police said that “the dog was tied to a fence and was inches from drowning” during a later interview. The dog was later named after the police officer who saved him, Benjamin Schultz, and put up for adoption.
The storm reached land on Saturday near Emerald Isle, North Carolina. Ophelia was considered a “low end Category 1 Hurricane” by the Weather Channel. It was a small, weaker storm compared to Category 4 Hurricane Idala that hit Florida in late August 2023 with winds of 130 mph. The NHC stated that “life-threatening storm surges could impact parts of coastal North Carolina and southeastern Virginia as the system moves north, and hurricane conditions are possible in portions of southern North Carolina in the chance that Ophelia momentarily swells to hurricane status.”
Ophelia was seemingly growing and several weather warnings were issued in concern of the safety of the people. “We are expecting an extended period of strong winds, heavy rainfall, and elevated tides,” Maryland Gov. Wes Moore said in an evening statement. However, Ophelia weakened on Saturday night and was downgraded from a tropical storm, but it would still affect the East Coast for a few days, with high waves, rip currents, and dangerous surf conditions.
Storm Ophelia moved to Washington by Sunday, and was supposed to keep heading North East as it continued to weaken. Though the storm still brought flash flooding in New Jersey and impacted NFL playing conditions, it slowly drained out by Tuesday, September 26.
