WS Chronicle

As of Tuesday, Oct. 16, Tropical Storm Michael was gone, having made landfall on the Florida Panhandle on Wednesday, Oct. 10, as a Category 4 storm and the most powerful hurricane to hit the continental U.S. in nearly 50 years.

It was downgraded to a Category 1 storm and then eventually to a tropical storm. The storm whipped through the Triad on Thursday, Oct. 11. The storm left power outages, downed trees and flooding.

The one shelter in Winston-Salem was closed over the weekend and the state of emergency in Winston- Salem and Forsyth County have ended, August Vernon, Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Emergency Management Director,  told The Chronicle on Tuesday. On Oct. 12, Mayor Allen Joines has declared a state of emergency in Winston-Salem in the aftermath of Tropical Storm Michael. The City Council ratified the declaration, which will make the city eligible for federal reimbursement for storm response costs.  Chairman Dave Plyler of the Forsyth County Commissioners declared a state of emergency in Forsyth County.

Gov. Roy Cooper visited the storm-damaged Triad on Oct. 12.

The City of Winston-Salem reported Oct. 12 that it received more than 150 reports of downed trees. About 50 had been removed from roads by mid-morning. Crews worked overnight clearing roadways, and 10 cutting crews and seven hoist trucks were working on clearing roads. Trees down in parks and debris not in roads will be collected later.

The Miller Park, Little Creek and Polo Park recreation centers lost power and were closed.

The Salem Lake Trail, Salem Creek Greenway closed and all boat launching at Salem Lake was suspended until further notice due to flooding and damage from Tropical Storm Michael.

Winston Lake Park was closed due to a downed power line in the park.

At least 31 deaths have been blamed on the powerful storm – 21 in Florida, three in North Carolina, one in Georgia and six in Virginia.