Wind whips through county; rips off roof
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on February 11, 2010 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/DENNIS HILL
Wind peeled the roof off this mobile home on Herring Road in Dudley on Wednesday. High winds were expected again today, with gusts up to 30 mph.
High sustained winds ripped the roof from a mobile home in Dudley on Wednesday afternoon -- the only major report of damage in Wayne County, authorities said.
High winds buffeted the entire state throughout the day. Gusts up to 30 miles per hour were expected today.
Dudley Fire Chief Chester Foss said the winds, which were reportedly between 35 and 45 mph for much of the day and night, "peeled the top off the trailer" at 960 Herring Road.
Foss said a woman was home at the time, but the chief did not have access to her name.
Firefighters with the Dudley Volunteer Fire Department responded to the call around 3 p.m., the chief said.
The volunteer fire unit worked to secure as much of the roof as they could salvage.
"The fire department secured what is left (of the roof)," Foss said. "It did peel the top off of it, but hopefully the walls will stay there, so they can put the top back on it."
If that does not happen, the home will likely be a total loss, with damage to the structure at between $5,000 and $6,000, he said.
Bradley Richards, the nighttime shift supervisor for the Wayne County Emergency Communications Center, confirmed that the county experienced high winds throughout the day.
"We've just been looking out for falling trees, power outages and things like that," Richards said.
Progress Energy had reported multiple outages of varying severity in Kinston, south of Havelock, west of Rocky Mount, north of Durham and near Apex on Wednesday evening.
However, Wayne County had been fortunate not to endure any outages, the communications supervisor said.
Across the state, schools closed early because of the danger posed by the winds.
The state Transportation Department suspended ferries serving Outer Banks communities because sustained winds of 40 miles an hour and gusts up to 60 mph made it unsafe for the ships to navigate.
The weather service also warned that the strong westerly winds were expected to push water out of the Neuse and Pamlico rivers and the Pamlico Sound, dropping water levels below normal.