Back to normal, business as usual in Craven County after Hurricane Ian's brief stay
Before Hurricane Ian made its second landfall in the United States in South Carolina Friday morning, the famous "spaghetti graphs" meteorologists use to track a storm's path were uncertain of where Ian would move next after hitting North Carolina.
By Saturday morning, residents in Craven County had their answer.
The cliche of "calm after the storm" was the definition of how the weather looked and felt as remnants of Ian cleared out Friday evening, giving residents a perfect fall-like start to the weekend.
While Ian was nothing compared to the storms of New Bern's past, it did call into action the emergency responders and was a strong reminder of what hurricanes can bring to eastern North Carolina.
New Bern Fire and Rescue Department personnel were dispatched around 12:30 p.m. due to a report of a stranded boater. Fire and rescue workers used the boat launch located in Union Point Park near the Comfort Suites hotel where two team members battled the elements of Hurricane Ian to reach the stranded boater.
Upon arrival at Union Point, the boater appeared shaken but didn't seem to have any injuries.
"Basically someone tried to ride the storm out on their boat," said New Bern Fire Chief Robert Boyd. "It came unhooked and hit the bridge and we're bringing him back now."
It is believed the boat came from one of the local marinas as the boat drifted into the marsh by Lawson Creek Park. The United States Coast Guard is expected to recover the boat.
The rest of the weekend is expected to be partly cloudy with highs in the mid-70s and lows in the low to high 60s and 50s.
Most businesses in New Bern were operating as usual throughout Friday and are expected into the weekend. Michelle Lynn, the owner of Country Biscuit, said she will operate regular business hours today and tomorrow.
"We are open and business is steady," she said. "Lots of drive-thrus and online orders. We will open tomorrow bright and early at 5 a.m., even if it is raining."
Erika Hodges, owner of River Brew Wine and Creamery also said they will be open regular hours. "Business has been kind of slow," she said, "but we have no plans of closing."
The rest of the weekend is expected to be partly cloudy with highs in the mid-70s and lows in the low to high 60s and 50s.
This article originally appeared on Sun Journal: Back to normal, business as usual in Craven County after Hurricane Ian's brief stay
