Tropical Storm Ophelia makes landfall in NC, more rain and wind expected

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Tropical Storm Ophelia has made landfall in North Carolina. The center of Ophelia made landfall early this morning around 6 a.m. just west of Cape Lookout. That is a little farther west than expected from earlier in the week, so the risk of thunderstorms now extends inland too, but not west of the Triangle.

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The peak of the storm in the Triangle will be through this morning when east to northeast winds can gust to 30-50 mph resulting in downed tree limbs and scattered power outages. Rainfall in the Triangle will range from 1-2 inches in Raleigh going west, and 2-4 inches east of Raleigh. This will result in ponding on roads and localized flooding.

FULL FORECAST

A shift of the wind to the northwest tomorrow afternoon will signal the worst of the storm is over, but there can still a few periods of rain and wind gusts of 20-30 mph through the afternoon and into the evening.

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At the coast, the worst of this storm will be now into midday. Heavy rains of 4-6 inches, rough surf, beach erosion, flooding as well as a storm surge of 3-5 feet will make this a dangerous, life threatening storm. Sustained winds will be 25-50 mph with gusts over 60 mph. An isolated tornado is not out of the question.

Winds and rain will diminish along the coast tonight. All areas over the eastern part of the state will have a much better day Sunday with sunshine returning and much less wind.

STORM CONDITIONS FROM THE TRIANGLE TO THE COAST