CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Wednesday is the first day of hurricane season, and already one storm has wreaked havoc on the Carolinas.
North Carolina ranks near the top among states that get slammed with hurricanes. Charlotte may be well inland, but the danger from tropical systems is real.
Though recent years have been quiet, Channel 9 meteorologist John Ahrens pored through historic records and calculated strong tropical storms have hit Charlotte on average every four years, sometimes with hurricane strength.
A map shows the tracks tropical storms and hurricanes have made over the past 100 years. The paths almost cover every square inch of the city.
The list includes a Category 2 hurricane that roared through Mint Hill in the 1890s.
Then there's Hurricane Hugo, with 100 mph winds that tore through the area.
The power was off for over a week off Lawyers Road.
Somehow, Penny's Place restaurant stayed open.
"We survived,” Billy Kiser, owner of Penny’s Place, said. “We would do a minimum of service but we would have coffee, cook on the grill and have lights in here."
“There were skid-steer loaders out in Myers Park clearing the streets. I just thought that was really odd,” said David Talbert, who lived through Hugo.
Memories of Hugo are fading.
“I would say some of the younger group, the millennials wouldn't have a clue on what to prepare for,” Talbert said.
Despite the historical average, the last tropical storm Charlotte has seen was over 10 years ago.
While the stats do not suggest a large storm is on the horizon soon, they do suggest that Charlotte is very vulnerable.
“Who would've ever thought Charlotte would get hit like they got hit. Nobody. Not even the people that lived here for years,” Kiser said.
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