(Annapolis) Residents of parts of coastal North Carolina and Virginia experienced flooding Saturday after tropical storm Ophelia made landfall near a North Carolina barrier island, bringing rain, destructive winds and dangerous waves.
The storm made landfall near the Emerald Isle with near hurricane force winds of 70 mph (113 km/h). These have weakened asOphelia was moving north, with the center of the storm crossing Virginia in the evening, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Ophelia is expected to sweep across the Northeast on Sunday along the mid-Atlantic coast to New Jersey.
In the evening, the center declared thatOphelia had slowed to a tropical depression, which is a weak form of tropical storm, and that all storm surge and tropical storm warnings had been discontinued.
Still, videos posted on social media showed riverside communities in North Carolina, such as New Bern, Belhaven and Washington, facing significant flooding.
Winds were decreasing and the system was expected to move northeastward by Sunday. “Further weakening is expected and Ophelia will likely become a post-tropical cyclone tomorrow,” said a statement from the hurricane center Saturday evening.
Parts of North Carolina and Virginia can expect up to 5 inches of rain through Sunday.
Philippe Papin, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center, said the main risk from the storm system over the next few days will be the threat of flooding from rain.
“Tropical storm force winds were observed, but they are starting to gradually ease as the system moves inland,” Mr. Papin said in an interview Saturday morning. However, there is a significant threat of flooding rains over much of eastern North Carolina into southern Virginia over the next 12 to 24 hours. »
Power outages spread to other states beyond North Carolina, where tens of thousands of homes and businesses remained without power in several eastern counties as of Saturday afternoon, according to poweroutage. us, which tracks utility reports. A map from Duke Energy showed scattered power outages across much of eastern North Carolina as winds toppled tree branches and snagged power lines.
“A slow-moving storm with several inches of rain, coupled with a gust that reaches 30, 40 miles per hour, that’s enough to take down a tree or knock down branches,” Duke Energy spokesman Jeff Brooks said. at WTVD. — TV Saturday. And that’s what we’ve seen in most areas where we’ve had outages. »
Brian Haines, a spokesman for the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management, said downed trees were also reported, but no major road closures.
Five people, including three children 10 years old or younger, required Coast Guard assistance on the water when conditions deteriorated Friday. They were aboard a 40-foot catamaran anchored at Lookout Bight in Cape Lookout, North Carolina, stuck in rough waters and high winds.
The governors of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland each declared states of emergency on Friday.
It’s not uncommon for one or two tropical storms, or even hurricanes, to develop off the East Coast each year, said Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center.
“We are at the height of hurricane season. Basically, storms can form anywhere across much of the Atlantic basin,” Brennan said in an interview Friday.
Scientists say climate change could cause the reach of hurricanes to extend more frequently into mid-latitude regions, making storms like this month’s Hurricane Lee more frequent.
One study simulated the trajectories of tropical cyclones from pre-industrial times, modern times, and a future with higher emissions. It was found that hurricanes would move closer to the coast, particularly around Boston, New York and Virginia, and would be more likely to form along the southeast coast.