By WHQR News Staff
Wilmington, NC – Was it a lot of preparation for a little wind or an opportunity to walk the paces during the peak of hurricane season?
That's the question left behind in the wake of Tropical Storm Hanna, which caused very little damaged or beach erosion.
Hanna made landfall at the South Carolina, North Carolina border at around 3 o'clock Saturday morning with sustained winds of 70-miles-per hour.
Wilmington
The City of Wilmington got through Hanna without any major damage. Wilmington Police say a number of traffic lights are out this morning, including several along Oleander near Independence Mall.
Wilmington Police are urging residents to stay off the roads as power crews restore electricity and tree crews remove limbs and debris.
Police remind drivers that an out of service traffic signal should be treated as a four-way stop.
The Beaches
Hanna blew in during high tide this morning creating worries ahead of the storm of severe beach erosion. But Kure and Wrightsville Beach reported minor erosion.
In South Carolina, some erosion was reported in Horry County at the South Strand campground and at the Garden City.
Electricity
Some 50,000 North Carolina residents started Saturday without power. Up to 19,000 New Hanover County residents started the day without power, and 20,000 Brunswick County residents were out of juice for a few hours in the early morning.
Storm Show at the Beach
Curious on lookers flocked to local beaches to check out the surf.
Tourists stuck it out at Wrightsville Beach, but the beach emptied out once it got dark.
Residents Hang Out
Despite the weather, about 30 local residents made their way to Loggerheads bar.
Bouncer Wali Pitt says storms like Hanna don't keep locals cooped up, but instead give them a sense of camaraderie.
"We've got a good core of people who are going to be here every night regardless. They live down the street, so, I mean, riding your bike two, three minutes ain't that big of a deal."
Some Brunswick County restaurants were open. Oak Island Cab Driver Kelly Sanders spent the night driving people to grab a bite to eat.
Her job brought her to the Huddle House, a diner just over the bridge to Oak Island.
"Well I just took a guy from about the middle of the island up to Huddle House because he didn't want to eat at the restaurant he works at. Does that tell you anything?"
Sanders says she was also hired to transport people to and from Tropical Storm Hanna parties celebrated across Oak Island.
Forecasters say the winds will diminish throughout Saturday as Hanna moves out of the state this afternoon and racing the eastern seaboard projected to be off the coast of Maine by Sunday afternoon.
Do you have insight or expertise on this topic? Please email us, we'd like to hear from you. news@whqr.org.