Hurricane Watch Issued As Tropical Storm Ophelia Hits North Carolina Coast

A hurricane watch was issued in parts of the North Carolina coast as the Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall. Further reports say Ophelia is predicted to bring strong winds, heavy rain, and possibly even tornadoes this weekend.

On September 23, at around 6:15 a.m. Eastern Time, the Tropical Storm Ophelia reportedly made landfall near the town of Emerald Isle in North Carolina. Further reports say the Tropical Storm Ophelia had winds up to 70 miles per hour which is only 4 miles per hour from strengthening into a hurricane.

According to Robledo, the National Hurricane Center predicted that the Tropical Storm Ophelia will bring strong winds, heavy rain, and possibly even tornadoes on the East Coast during this weekend. Due to this, on September 22, parts of eastern North Carolina were issued with a hurricane watch as the Tropical Storm Ophelia is expected to bring up to 10 inches of rain.

Further reports say that the Tropical Storm Ophelia is also forecasted to bring rip currents, high surf, storm surge, and heavy rainfall from the state of North Carolina to New Jersey across the Mid-Atlantic which could impact several National Football League and Major League Soccer games.

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Tropical Storm Ophelia’s Status

According to Shearer, the current status of the Tropical Storm Ophelia may become complicated as the National Weather Service also stated that it is expected to downgrade as it continues to move west toward the Piedmont Triad and comes across much drier air in the western region of Piedmont.

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