McCrory: ‘Be overprepared and hopefully underwhelmed’ by Hurricane Matthew

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — North Carolina woke up to a pleasant surprise this morning. The projected track of Hurricane Matthew changed significantly overnight with the center of the storm now forecast to pass south of our area instead of making landfall here.

Despite the change, Gov. Pat McCrory says North Carolinians still need to prepare.

“We are very cautiously optimistic that with this new model turning closer into Florida, Georgia and South Carolina and then possibly moving to the west we will be spared major damage,” McCrory said during a live phone interview on WWAY with Good Morning Carolina anchor Ashley Sturm. “But that doesn’t mean there’s not risk. That doesn’t mean there won’t be flooding. That doesn’t mean there won’t be high winds and electrical outages. But it is much better news than we anticipated 24 hours ago.”

Get the very latest on the storm from the WWAY Hurricane Center

McCrory said state leaders continue to work with local officials and have the National Guard on standby as needed. He said crews will stage just outside the projected impact area to be ready to respond as quickly as possible after the storm hits.

“In the meantime I’m going to be overprepared and hopefully underwhelmed,” McCrory said, pointing out that there could still be issues like major flooding along the state’s coastal areas. The governor also noted that the ground in many areas is saturated due to recent rain.

“There could be some evacuations in some areas, but we’re going to be making those calls day-by-day and getting local authorities’ input on that,” McCrory said.

Stay with WWAY for continued coverage of Hurricane Matthew on-air, online and on social media.