Tropical storm warning: High winds, heavy rains coming to Ocean City, Delmarva
A tropical storm is headed for the Delmarva Peninsula.
Heavy rains and high winds from the tropical storm are expected to begin Friday, Sept. 22. Here's everything you need to know about what to expect this weekend.
Topical Storm warning
A tropical storm is expected to form off the Southeast U.S. coast, and will spread heavy rain, strong wind gusts, high surf, coastal flooding and rip currents up the East Coast into the weekend, according to the National Weather Service in Wakefield, Va.
Tropical storm, storm surge alerts have been issued, with hazardous weather expected for southeast Maryland, northeast North Carolina, eastern Virginia and southeast Virginia.
The National Hurricane Center has issued a tropical storm warning for parts of the East Coast from Cape Fear, North Carolina, to Fenwick Island, Delaware. This means tropical storm force winds are expected in the next 36 hours in these areas, the weather service stated.
The weather service is also warning about high rip current risk at the beaches from Northampton and Accomack County to Ocean City and Fenwick Island.
Also, a storm surge watch has been posted from Surf City, North Carolina, to Chincoteague, Virginia, including southern Chesapeake Bay, Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds. This means life-threatening storm surge flooding is possible in these areas within the next 48 hours.
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Situation overview, potential impacts
Potential Tropical Cyclone 16 was centered near latitude 28.7 North, longitude 75.9 West at 11 a.m.
The system is moving toward the north near 9 mph, and this general motion is expected to continue through early Friday. A north-northwestward to northward motion is forecast by late Friday and is expected to continue into the weekend. The center of the cyclone is expected to approach the coast of North Carolina within the warning area Friday night and early Saturday.
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Tropical Storm force wind is expected to arrive Friday night into early Saturday and this could lead to downed trees and scattered power outages. Areas of moderate to major coastal flooding are possible during high tide Friday night into Saturday. Heavy rainfall is expected to accompany the cyclone with 2-3 inches possible inland, and 3-4 inches closer to the coast.
Dangerous marine conditions are expected Friday night into Saturday due to the strong winds and high seas. Seas are said to build to 10 to 15 feet Friday night into Saturday, and remain elevated into Sunday.
Olivia Minzola covers communities on the Lower Shore. Contact her with tips and story ideas at ominzola@delmarvanow.com.
This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Tropical storm warning: High winds, rain headed to Ocean City
