Watch Ian's forecast, governor warns

Sep. 29—TRIAD — A newly strengthened Hurricane Ian was forecast to make landfall this morning somewhere near Charleston, South Carolina, and cut a path as a tropical storm into northwestern North Carolina, but N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper warned that people should keep up with the forecast in case the storm path changed overnight.

Heavy rain was expected to begin at North Carolina's coast Thursday night and spread west across the state through the day. The National Hurricane Center projected that most of North Carolina could receive a total of 2 to 4 inches of rain today and Saturday, but parts of central and western North Carolina — including some of the Triad region — could get up to 6 inches.

Cooper warned that some places could even get 7 inches of rain, and he cautioned drivers never to drive onto flooded roads because the water can be deeper than it looks, and cars can be swept off the roadway.

"If you can't see the pavement beneath the water, there's likely a problem," he said.

The heavy rains combined with expected gusty winds means that although no widespread power failures are expected, trees and limbs could fall and take out power lines in many places, N.C. Emergency Management Director Will Ray said.

Because of the forecast for potentially heavy rains today, Guilford County Schools announced that all students will learn remotely instead of going to school.

Randolph County Schools announced that all schools will be closed.

All Friday evening Guilford school activities have been canceled. Officials said they will issue an update if forecast weather conditions for Saturday warrant any changes to Saturday activities.

The Trash to Treasure community art event scheduled for Saturday at the High Point Farmers Market has been postponed until Saturday, Oct. 15.

A chili cook-off planned for Saturday at the Robert G. Shaw Piedmont Triad Farmers Market has been canceled.

The city of High Point said its Ingleside Compost Facility will be closed on Saturday because the forecast rain would make it inefficient and potentially unsafe for anyone to be on the site. The facility will close at 4:30 p.m. Friday and reopen at 8 a.m. Monday. For further details or questions, contact Melinda King at 336-883-3218 or melinda.king@highpointnc.gov.