Heavy rain moving into the Carolina's, flooding possible

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Waves of heavy rain this week could lead to localized flooding. Expect some impacts from Idalia late Wednesday into Thursday.

WCNC Staff, Brad Panovich, Chris Mulcahy, Brittany Van Voorhees (WCNC), KJ Jacobs, Larry Sprinkle

12:41 PM EST March 6, 2019

5:54 PM EDT August 29, 2023

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies with highs in the mid 80s. Look for more scattered showers and thunderstorms tracking into the area. Rain and thunderstorms capable of strong winds and lightning are possible through tonight. The threat of localized flash flooding along streams and nuisance flooding especially in poor drainage areas.  

Tomorrow

Rain is likely into midweek as Idalia approaches the Carolinas. A Flood Watch is in effect from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday. The Charlotte area can expect 2-4 inches of rainfall. Areas closer towards the coast and along the beaches could pick up 4-7 inches of rainfall. Despite the lower wind threat, isolated strong gusts could bring some trees down due to the saturated ground from recent showers. 

Idalia Update

Idalia is a category two hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico just off the coast of Florida. The hurricane is expected to strengthen and become a category three just before landfall along the Big Bend region of Florida. Areas along the west coast of Florida are bracing for significant storm surge, up to 12 feet for some areas north of Tampa. 

Local Impacts

Idalia impacts will be far reaching even after landfall. Expect coastal and inland impacts across Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina. Numerous tropical weather alerts have been issued along the southeast in anticipation of Idalia. Both tropical storm and hurricane force winds can be expected along with storm surge along the coastline of the Carolinas. 

The storm surge forecast for the Charleston area is 2-4 feet. The push of water ashore could impact streets, homes, and nearby businesses. Myrtle Beach and areas northward such as Wilmington and the NC Outer Banks could experience storm surge of 1-3 feet.

Labor Day Weekend

Sunny skies are back just in time for the long holiday weekend. Sunshine could return as early as Friday with temperatures near 80. And some beautiful weekend weather is on tap for your end of summer events. 50s at daybreak on Saturday with afternoon temperatures around 82. Sunday and Monday are both looking great with highs closer to 90 under sunny skies. 

Stay connected to the WCNC Charlotte Weather Team:

Contact Brad Panovich at bpanovich@wcnc.com or follow him on FacebookTwitter and Instagram. 

Contact Larry Sprinkle at lsprinkle@wcnc.com and follow him on FacebookTwitter and Instagram. 

Contact Chris Mulcahy at cmulcahy@wcnc.com and follow him on FacebookTwitterInstagram, and TikTok.

Contact Brittany Van Voorhees at bvanvoorhe@wcnc.com and follow her on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.

Contact KJ Jacobs at kjacobs3@wcnc.com and follow him on FacebookTwitter and Instagram.