I drove out over to Clayton to go karting this afternoon, then headed over to Smithfield NC just to see what all the hubbub was all about. The rain didn't seem particularly heavy although there was some minor flooded ditches (I guess it started raining last night non-stop). Quite windy though, I'd estimate sustained winds of around 60-70km/h (45mph) and then frequent gusts much higher than that.

Inside the car though, I guess perhaps German cars are just stable? There was the occasional tug on the steering wheel but I didn't really notice the winds while driving aside from the wildly flailing trees and road debris.......Interesting thing: I finished filling up my X3 and no more than 20 seconds later, the power went out in the entire area.

All the hotels in Raleigh and Smithfield were packed. I feel for those who had to evacuate; hotels in Roanoke, Harrisonburg, Charlottesville, Lynchburg, Danville were all booked to capacity. Thankfully, I read that many of the hotel owners graciously offered discounts to those who had to leave.

http://www.wset.com/story/15341923/d...icane-evacuees

Interestingly, there's a sharp cutoff in areas affected. Everything west of Raleigh looks normal, but drive east, there's leaves everywhere and full storm drainage ponds.