First Alert Forecast: cloudy & much chillier

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - New month! Same cloudy pattern...... Your First Alert Forecast opens February with more gray skies as a front loiters near the Cape Fear Region. Keep your rain gear handy as the clouds will deliver spotty rain Wednesday night, and then more extensive rounds of rain Thursday, Thursday night, and perhaps even the early part of Friday. Flooding and severe storms are unlikely.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - A sluggish front will focus clouds and occasional fog and rain on the Cape Fear Region for much of the rest of the week. Shower chances include 30% tonight, 40% Wednesday, 60% Thursday, 80% Thursday night, and 40% Friday - especially early Friday. Rain will be beneficial but not likely heavy enough to trip flooding.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Shootin’ the Breeze, with WECT Chief Meteorologist Gannon Medwick, explores Cape Fear and Carolina weather more deeply than standard TV segments. Look for a new episode roughly every month!. On this sixth episode, Gannon dives into the “Four Ps” of winter forecasting in the Cape...

Parents’ Bill of Rights bill moves forward, sparking concern among LGBTQ community. Lawmakers are pushing to give parents more control over their child’s education but opponents of the bill are concerned that it would hurt some students in the state’s public school system. Basketball games played tonight...

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Community members learned more about a plan to make it safer to walk around Wilmington as Walk Wilmington talked to people about how they hope to build on the city’s current pedestrian plan. “We’re really passionate about the downtown trail specifically,” said Emily Kohls, who...

LELAND, N.C. (WECT) - The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $80,000 in federal funding to the Town of Leland and $575,000 to the Grand Strand Area Transportation Study to develop road safety action plans. A total of $800 million was awarded nationwide, including $8.1 million to North Carolina communities.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - The North Carolina Department of Transportation has announced that the right, southbound lane of U.S. 17 is reopen near N.C. 133. Previously, a traffic incident had caused one lane to close near Leland. Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.

BLADEN COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - Neighbors in the Ammon area are concerned about their drinking water after thousands of gallons of animal waste were released into a nearby creek. “It was a really unpleasant smell of, like, fecal matter,” said Anthony Jimenez, who lives just half a mile from the release.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The North Carolina Department of Transportation says that a crash that closed a lane of U.S. 17 near the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge has been cleared. According to the announcement, a vehicle crash caused the lane closure at 10:47 a.m., and the NCDOT posted that the crash was cleared at 11:21 a.m. on the same day, Jan. 30.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - Stores in Bladen and Brunswick counties are among 52 fined by the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Standards Division due to price-scanner errors. “Our Standards Division continues to see about a quarter of all price scanner inspections fail and many stores are...

LELAND, N.C. (WECT) - The Town of Leland is working with REV Entertainment and Brunswick County to develop “a world-class development concept with sports and entertainment as the anchor,” town officials announced Wednesday. Minor league baseball could be part of the development, according to the Town’s announcement.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Wilmington resident Joanne Sobocinski started to feel dizzy and uneasy last November. Given her symptoms, she thought she might have vertigo. “But the symptoms started getting worse,” Sobocinski said. “And they really weren’t lining up with what vertigo was. So, I made an appointment with my [general practitioner] and she did a CAT scan right in the office, which was great because I got an immediate answer, which wasn’t the answer I thought it was going to be.”

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office says that its dive team helped detectives with a search off the Cape Fear River and found a handgun. “The handgun is now being sent to process to verify that it is a part of the investigation,” said the office in a release on Jan. 31.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - WECT proudly celebrates Black History Month. All month long we will highlight places, people, and moments that shaped Black history in southeastern North Carolina. Sloop Point Elementary. Sloop Point Elementary is one of the eight remaining Rosenwald School buildings in Pender County. The one-room schoolhouse sits...

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The beginning of February marks the start of Black History Month, and there a variety of events taking place throughout the month in southeastern North Carolina to commemorate it. New Hanover County. On Feb. 9, Cape Fear Community College will host a screening of “C.F. Pope:...

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - The City of Wilmington is scheduled to host two open house-style meetings for the community in relation to their Walk Wilmington plan. According to an announcement from the city, the first meeting will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. on Jan. 31 at Halyburton Park at 4099 S 17th St. in Wilmington, while the second meeting will take place from 5 to 7 p.m. on Feb. 1 at the MLK Community Center at 401 S 8th St.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, N.C. (WECT) - A Brunswick County Schools job fair will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 21, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. The event will be on the campus of North Brunswick High School. Walk-ins are welcome and attendees can also register for the event.

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Wilmington police are searching for 23-year-old Curtis Lambert Morgan. He is 5 feet and 8 inches tall and 170 pounds. He has blue eyes and blond hair. Morgan was last seen on Jan. 31 in the 400 block of Darlington Avenue wearing a blue shirt with...

Man charged with murder in 2020 Wilmington shooting pleads guilty. Beacon Education to host 8th Annual Celebrity Chef Events, Emeril Lagasse and Rachel Ray to attend. Beacon Education to host 8th Annual Celebrity Chef Events, Emeril Lagasse and Rachel Ray to attend. Shallotte Police Department searching for missing man. Updated:...

BLADEN CO., N.C. (WECT) - White Lake in Bladen County and Sandyfield in Columbus County are among 34 communities chosen by the state to take part in the Creating Outdoor Recreation Economies (CORE) program. Per an announcement from the N.C. Department of Commerce, the communities will work with local stakeholders...