Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall early Saturday morning, battering North Carolina with 70 mph winds, heavy rain and coastal flooding, and leaving more than 70,000 homes and businesses in several states without power.
The gale landed near Emerald Isle, in the southern part of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, around 6:15 a.m. with massive gusts just shy of hurricane-force winds.
The storm moved quickly inland, heading north with winds that slowed to 50 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center, and was forecast to move northeast through Sunday.
Up to eight inches of rain and six-foot storm surges were expected in parts of North Carolina and Virginia.
Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall Saturday morning in North Carolina and is expected to bring rain and winds to the East Coast over the weekend.Fox Weather
Storm chasers shared images Saturday of tumultuous waves rocking boats in New Bern, North Carolina, and of turbulent waters flooding homes and a car in the city of Washington, which is about 30 miles offshore on the North Shore. of the Pamlico River.
Communities are SUBMERGED under storm surge from tropical storm #ophelia here in Washington, North Carolina. Some areas are even isolated and water rescue teams are moving around the city in case the call comes in later. Much of the city is without electricity due to falling trees such as… pic.twitter.com/EodW0Othp6
-Bryce Shelton (@BryceShelton01) September 23, 2023
Five people, including three children, were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard from a sailboat in Cape Lookout, North Carolina, on Friday night as the storm approached. Waves were reaching 10 feet and winds were blowing at 40 mph when the boat owner called for help.
The tropical storm’s effects extend up to 300 miles from the center of the large system, according to the National Weather Service, and are likely to down trees and down power lines along its path.
As of Saturday afternoon, about 40,000 power outages were reported in North Carolina, 13,600 in Virginia, more than 7,000 in Pennsylvania and 5,700 in New Jersey, according to the tracking site PowerOutage.us. About 1,500 homes and businesses on Long Island were also without power. The severed wires also knocked out power to a handful of homes spread across the five boroughs, according to Con Edison’s outage map.
More than 70,000 power outages were reported early Saturday after Hurricane Ophelia made landfall.Fox Weather
Several airlines issued travel advisories, warning of possible delays along the East Coast due to the tropical storm. Delays and cancellations at John F. Kennedy, Newark Liberty, Dulles and Charleston in Washington appear to have had a domino effect, disrupting schedules in major hubs across the country such as Chicago O’Hare, Atlanta and Denver.
Ophelia is forecast to rapidly slow to a post-tropical cyclone on Sunday as it approaches Maryland, the NWS predicts, but heavy rain is possible from Pennsylvania to Long Island and even New England. Showers may persist into Sunday, but conditions will improve on Monday.
“Fortunately, Ophelia is going to weaken,” Fox Weather meteorologist Jordan Overton told the Post.
“This rain that we are seeing [in New York City] “It’s coming from Ophelia, it’s the outer bands, but it won’t be as strong as it approaches the northeast coast today and tomorrow,” Overton said Saturday.
Ophelia is on track to cross eastern North Carolina and travel through southeastern Virginia, before heading north over the weekend.Fox Weather
A storm surge warning was in effect from Bogue Inlet, North Carolina, to Chincoteague, Virginia. Storm surges of 4 to 6 feet were reportedly forecast in some areas, and a tropical storm warning was issued from Cape Fear, North Carolina, to Fenwick Island, Delaware.
States of emergency were declared in North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland on Friday. Some schools closed early and rain suspended weekend events across the coast.
With Pole Wires.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn