Potential Tropical Cyclone 16 forms into Tropical Storm Ophelia
MIAMI - Tropical Storm Ophelia formed off the eastern seaboard and is sending tropical storm conditions toward the North Carolina coast.
Friday afternoon, the system was about 185 miles south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It was moving to the north-northwest at 12 mph with winds of 60 mph.
On the forecast track, the center will approach the coast of North Carolina on Friday night. Tropical storm warnings extended north into New Jersey.
It will then move across eastern North Carolina, southeastern Virginia, and the Delmarva Peninsula on Saturday and Sunday.
In addition to the wind and rain, storm surge will be a problem with 2 to 4 feet of surge expected in the Outer Banks.
The heavy rain with this storm will then spread north into New Jersey, Pennsylvania and even parts of New York. Heavy downpours will lead to flooding in addition to damaging wind gusts.
Here in South Florida, the winds will gradually shift to the north-northeast as the storm moves into North Carolina. This may allow drier air to move into the area, lowering our rain chances and dropping temperatures a bit. The breeze along the coast may increase the waves and surf. The elevated rip current risk is expected to continue through the weekend.