Soon to be Storm Ophelia Heads to North Carolina, Winds & Rains Spread Up the Coast Tonight & Saturday

Soon to be Storm Ophelia Heads to North Carolina,

Winds & Rains Spread Up the Coast Tonight & Saturday

Soon to be Storm Ophelia Heads to North Carolina,

Winds & Rains Spread Up the Coast Tonight & Saturday

Overnight satellite loops, surface, and buoy observations indicate that low pressure off the North Carolina coast continues to strengthen/ The pressure based on satellite estimates is now down to 996 mb and this system is very close to being upgraded to at least a subtropical storm. This will likely happen later today and at that point it will get the name Ophelia. The satellite loop below shows lightning strikes increasing near where the center is thought to be and wrapping around the southern quadrants. Clouds and rain are spreading northwestward as tropical storm conditions continue to spread toward the Mid Atlantic coast.

SATELLITE WITH LIGHTNING STRIKES

WEATHER RADAR

As far as Eastern Pennsylvania to Southern New England are concerned, including the Hudson Valley, New Jersey and Long Island south to Delaware here is what you can expect. First off there are no issues today. We will see sunshine giving way to arriving clouds later today from south to north. Most highs today will be in the cool upper 60s to lower 70s with a light northeast wind.

While the system will move inland into North Carolina, the effects here will be indirect and therefore more manageable. The biggest issues along the immediate coast will be the wind where we will see gusts of 40 to 50 mph during the day Saturday. Inland winds will be gusty but lower and probably not at the level of advisory or warning criteria.

Overnight into Saturday weather conditions will deteriorate from south to north as rain moves up the coast overnight reaching NYC and Southern England Saturday morning. The band o rain on the northern fringe of the storm will likely produce a shot of 1 to 2 inches. This band will last about 6 to 8 hours or so as it moves north and northeast.

There is the possibility of some localized flash flooding in some vulnerable areas. The map above shows rainfall totals through Sunday evening 8pm. Once the initial band of rain moves through, we probably see rain lighten up Saturday night into Sunday morning. Temperatures Saturday will likely not get much above the lower 60s and areas inland north and west of the coast will not get out of the 50s.

This system will not be getting out of the way anytime soon as the storm center weakens and moves through Eastern Virginia and then turns northeast to off the New Jersey coast Sunday night and Monday. This leads us to think we will see on and off rain Sunday with temperatures in the 60s. We could still see clouds and leftover rains last into Monday. Winds will diminish Saturday night and won’t be a factor once the pressure gradient weakens Sunday morning. We will have more on this as we move through the day as we wait to see exactly what kind of warnings are issues (if any) for our area. There will also be some coastal flooding issues at high tide over the weekend though the worst of that will be to the south on east coast of the Delmarva Peninsula as well as Chesapeak Bay which is likely to see considerable tidal flooding from north to south.

BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD THE FREE METEOROLOGIST JOE CIOFFI WEATHER APP &

ANGRY BEN’S FREE WEATHER APP “THE ANGRY WEATHERMAN!

MANY THANKS TO TROPICAL TIDBITS FOR THE USE OF MAPS

Please note that with regards to any severe weather,  tropical storms, or hurricanes, should a storm be threatening, please consult your local National Weather Service office or your local government officials about what action you should be taking to protect life and property.