The first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States since 2005 may be over 1,000 miles away, but the devastating category 4 storm will make its presence felt in the Queen City in a variety of ways.
Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport has already canceled dozens of flights, and have redirected several others to the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Many passengers that were expected to fly through Charlotte on their way to Houston are now stuck here, waiting for redirected routes.
Drivers around the Charlotte region will also feel the effects of the storm, as gas prices are expected to climb by 10-15 cents now that refineries in Texas have shut down in the wake of the storm.
Dozens of people from the Charlotte region will be heading down to the hardest hit areas to help with relief efforts. The American Red Cross is sending 16 volunteers from Charlotte, and Samaritan’s Purse (headquartered in Boone) will be sending two tractor-trailers of supplies, along with several volunteers from the Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (based in Charlotte).
Hurricane Harvey officially made landfall last night at around 9:45pm, and it’s expected to continue pummeling the state of Texas for at least the next 24 hours.
Hurricane #Harvey is steadily weakening over land, but excessive rainfall and storm surge threats remain pic.twitter.com/KXwYTEi4yt
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) August 26, 2017
All anyone can do now is wait and pray.