Think Raleigh will get hit bad? I have relatives there

The latest tracking I have seen shows the worst of the winds being just east of Raleigh, and the winds are continuing to shift slightly east.  If this keeps on track, it means Raleigh is likely going to have a lot of rain and maybe some wind, but nothing overly serious.  If this storm moves west again they could get more wind.  Parts of Raleigh may also see some minor flooding, but all in all I would say that is a relatively safe place to be.

Those farther east in Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, and Dare counties (among others), though, may be in for a rough night and weekend ahead.  Wind will be an issue.  But the flooding aftermath is likely the biggest area of concern.  Right now I think the worst of the actual storm/wind will hit the Crystal Coast (my absolute favorite place to visit) and Outer Banks... with luck it will continue to move east once it hits landfall in NC so that Virginia won't get hit as bad. 

I have spent much time in Eastern NC in my life - it is truly one of my favorite places.  My concern for the region isn't the hurricane itself, but the flooding aftermath.  In 1999 the region got a 1-2 punch with Hurricane Floyd and a 2nd one right after and it caused massive flooding over a large portion of the eastern part of the state.  It took years for some communities to rebuilt.  This hurricane seems to be threatening to come up the Pamilico Sound, which could result in a similar storm surge/flooding problem for the inland communities as they faced in 1999.  For those of you who pray, please send some prays to the residents of NC and other effected states.  It looks like it could be an interesting weekend coming up.