Central NC could get up to 5 inches of rain through Saturday from Hurricane Sally

RALEIGH (WTVD) — After three relatively pleasant days to start the week, central North Carolina is about to get increasingly soggy.

After hammering parts of the Gulf Coast with torrential rainfall, Hurricane Sally will weaken but remain formidable as it comes our way. Sally hit the U.S. as a Category 2 storm but downgraded to a Category 1 by 11 a.m.

As the high-pressure area to the north of North Carolina slid to the east and away from the coast, Sally made landfall near the Alabama/Florida border and began to push inland. These are the two big factors in our weather for the rest of the week.

The European forecast model is predicting up to nearly six inches of rain for parts of the area through Saturday. The model predicts almost 10 inches near the coast.

The American (GFS) model isn’t predicting as much rain, but still a considerable amount, anywhere from 1 inch to 5.5 inches through Saturday.

The Weather Prediction Center, a branch of the National Weather Service, predicted 3 to 5 inches of rain for our area through Saturday.

Wednesday will start to get cloudier in the afternoon with a stray shower possible. Rain from Sally arrives Wednesday night into Thursday with temperatures in the low 70s. The heaviest rain arrives Thursday into Friday. A Flash Flood Watch is in effect for the entire ABC11 viewing area through 8 p.m. Friday.

Temperatures on Friday will stay in the low to mid 70s. We’ll clear out over the weekend with highs near 70. We’ll remain dry through the start of fall on Tuesday.

WATCH: Hurricane Sally hammers Alabama coast