WILMINGTON, N.C. — Thirty years ago this week, Hurricane Fran made landfall along the North Carolina coast, producing up to 12 feet of storm surge and leaving a path of destruction from the shoreline all the way to the Triangle.
As the 30th anniversary of that storm arrives, so does peak hurricane season. And this year, forecasters at the National Weather Service in Wilmington have a new tool they hope will change how coastal residents understand the threat.
The tool is portable and physical, a color-coded pole that forecasters can bring directly into communities to show people exactly how high storm surge could rise above the ground they are standing on. The colors on the pole match the National Weather Service’s storm surge risk maps, giving residents a tangible, in-person way to visualize what can otherwise be an abstract and deadly danger…