RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Thirty years ago this Saturday, Hurricane Fran roared ashore and began a destructive journey that would change the landscape of North Carolina from the coast to the capital in Raleigh and beyond.
Fran made landfall around 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 5, 1996, just three days after Labor Day. The eye crossed the Cape Fear area in Brunswick County near Bald Head Island and Southport as a powerful Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph sustained winds.
Along the coast, Fran brought devastating wind and storm surge. Beaches still recovering from Hurricane Bertha, which struck North Carolina in the Wilmington area just two months earlier, were battered again…