ATLANTA — Tropical Storm Ophelia formed off of the coast of the Carolinas on Friday. According to the National Hurricane Center, the system made landfall near Emerald Isle, North Carolina around 6:15 a.m. Saturday. The system was estimated to have 70 mph sustained wind at landfall, making it a strong tropical storm.
Tropical Storm Warnings are in place for the coastline of the Carolinas up to Fenwick Island, Delaware. This also includes the lower Chesapeake Bay south of Smith Point. A Hurricane Watch has been issued for the coast of North Carolina from north of Surf City to Ocracoke Inlet. A Storm Surge Warning has been issued for these areas as well.
The Storm moves inland quickly and becomes extratropical, losing its tropical characteristics, through the weekend. But a lot of rain gets spread northward, with totals in excess of 3-4 inches all the way up the I-95 corridor.
Will there be impacts in north Georgia?
No, there will not be. The counter-clockwise flow around the system will help to bring reinforcing dry air into our area at the end of the week and into the weekend. So, we'll continue to enjoy our "taste of fall" pleasant stretch. The next couple of days will be breezy for us, but these will not be direct winds associated with Tropical Storm Ophelia.
Along the Georgia coast, although there are no watches/warnings in place, there will be larger swells and a higher rip current risk in the coming days due to Ophelia.
There is another system we are watching off the coast of Africa. It has an 90% chance of developing into a tropical depression or storm. Extended models show it turning away from the U.S. We will keep tracking it and monitor its development.
