Tropical storm warning east of Triangle due to Potential Tropical Cyclone 16

Potential Tropical Cyclone 16 on Friday is expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Ophelia and make landfall in North Carolina.

At 8 a.m. on Friday, the system had winds at 50 mph was 364 miles southeast of Raleigh. The system will bring tropical storm conditions and heavy rain to our coast Friday and Saturday. Locally, we will see rain, breezy winds and some storms.

Friday is a WRAL Weather Alert Day, but it’s a little different than a typical WRAL Weather Alert Day. It starts Friday at 7 p.m. and lasts until 3 p.m. Saturday.

The system off the coast is expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Ophelia on Friday and make landfall Saturday morning near Cape Lookout.

The National Hurricane Center forecasts the system to become a tropical storm later Friday with peak winds near 60 mph as it approaches our coast.

“The bulk of the rain arrives after 2 p.m. Friday,” said WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell. “The heaviest rain and strongest wind will come overnight into early Saturday (8 p.m. to 11 a.m.).”

Counties southeast of the Triangle could see rain by the early afternoon then becoming more widespread by late afternoon and evening.

Counties east of the Triangle are under a Level 1 out of 5 risk for severe storms, and a Level 2 threat is in place at the coast. Flooding and power outages will be possible Friday and Saturday.

“It will be worse the closer you get to the coast,” WRAL meteorologist Anthony Baglione said. “It still looks like our main concerns would just be windy and rainy conditions, although an isolated strong storm can’t be ruled out. Winds will generally gust 30 to 40 mph with 50 to 75 mph along the coast.”

A flood watch has been issued for Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash, Wayne and Wilson counties starting at 3 p.m. Friday and lasting until 9 p.m. Saturday.

Up to 4 inches of rain will be possible in our eastern counties and along the coast. Here in the Triangle, we’re expected to get 1 to 2 inches of rain.

The National Hurricane Center said tropical storm conditions are expected along the coast.

A tropical storm warning and storm surge watch has been issued for the NC coast.

“We could see around 2 to 5 feet of storm surge for areas north of Surf City with up to 3 feet south of Surf City,” Baglione said.

“There is a danger of life-threatening storm surge inundation over portions of eastern North Carolina,” the NHC said Friday morning.

If you’re planning on heading to the beach this weekend, there’s a high rip current risk.

Potential Tropical Cyclone 16 will bring dangerous rip currents to the NC coast, and a heavy surf advisory is in effect. It’s important to stay safe if you’re heading to the beach this weekend. Avoid going in the water if you see yellow or red flags.

The state is urging North Carolinians to be prepared and stay safe. Make sure you have an emergency kit with the following necessities:

• Food
  • Make sure you have food that’s ready to eat and doesn’t need to be refrigerated, in case there’s an outage.
  • It might be a good idea to pick up a cooler and some ice. That way you can salvage some groceries if there’s an outage.
• Water
• Phone charger
  • A portable charger is best since traditional chargers won’t work during an outage.
• Prescription medications
• First aid kit
• Flashlight
• Batteries

Heavy rain will continue overnight into Saturday morning. Showers will become more scattered by Saturday afternoon after the WRAL Weather Alert Day ends at 3 p.m.

“Rain and storm chances continue into just after lunchtime tomorrow with all of this likely gone by the 6 p.m. Saturday night,” Baglione said. “Sunday looks beautiful with sunshine and warmer highs in the 70s.”

Sunday will be the best day to get outside this weekend. The rain should clear out by Sunday morning, and it’s supposed to warm up a bit.