Ophelia: Warnings in place as NC tropical storm nears coast

Tropical Storm Ophelia on Friday and Saturday will bring rain and storms to North Carolina. The storm is expected to make landfall Saturday morning along the N.C. coast.

On Friday afternoon, Ophelia was 200 miles south of Cape Hatteras with maximum winds at 50 mph. Ophelia will bring tropical storm conditions and heavy rain to our coast Friday and Saturday. Locally, we will see rain, gusty winds and some storms.

A WRAL Weather Alert Day starts Friday at 7 p.m. and lasts until 3 p.m. Saturday, when the biggest impacts will be felt.

Tropical storm warning in effect

A tropical storm warning is in effect for counties directly east of the Triangle, including Edgecombe, Halifax, Nash, Sampson, Wilson and Wayne counties.

The storm strengthened into Tropical Storm Ophelia on Friday with peak winds near 60 mph as it approaches our coast. Ophelia could make landfall Saturday morning near Cape Lookout.

Ophelia: Timing, impact for future NC tropical storm

Counties southeast of the Triangle at 1 p.m. were already seeing rain, which will become more widespread by late afternoon and evening.

“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 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 for those eastern counties.

“It will be worse the closer you get to the coast,” WRAL meteorologist Anthony Baglione said. “It still looks like our main concerns [in the Triangle] will just be windy and rainy conditions, although an isolated strong storm can’t be ruled out. Winds will gust 30 to 40 mph [locally] with 50 to 75 mph gusts 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 Friday and Saturday in our eastern counties and along the coast. 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, where tropical storm warnings and storm surge watches are in effect.

“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, apart from the rainy weather, 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

After Ophelia: Looking ahead

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.