It always seems to be the “I” storm. Although we may get lucky this year.
While Florida is preparing for a possible major strike on Wednesday from still-developing Hurricane Ian, northeastern North Carolina and the Outer Banks needs to be thinking the coming weekend is going to be a wet one from what’s left of the ninth tropical cyclone of 2022.
And even though the region is not expected to take a direct hit, emergency officials say to be ready just in case.
“While it’s still too soon for complete details on impacts and timing, it’s never too soon to review plans, stock hurricane kits and start preparing just in case future forecasts bring Ian to our area,” said Dare County Emergency Management Director Drew Pearson.
“The current forecast track takes Ian into the Gulf Coast, with likely impacts in Florida and across the Southeast this week,” said forecasters at the National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City office on Monday.
“While the exact path still highly uncertain, we remain concerned about very heavy rainfall across eastern NC towards the end of the week as a result of Ian, bringing a threat of flash flooding,” according to the NWS.
Between four and eight inches of rain is currently expected across the region between Thursday and Sunday.
Coastal threats such as high winds, rough surf and overwash for the Outer Banks will highly depend on if Ian shifts farther east. Ahead of things turning tropical around our region, we’ll see moderate temperatures and dry conditions through midweek.
National Weather Service seven-day forecasts for:
Updated surf zone forecasts from the National Weather Service are posted at https://www.weather.gov/beach/midatlantic.
For more information on rip currents, visit LoveTheBeachRespectTheOcean.com and SafeCorolla.com.
For the latest images from NCDOT traffic cameras on the Outer Banks and northeastern North Carolina, visit: https://wobx.com/2022/06/01/outer-banks-northeastern-north-carolina-traffic-cameras/.
