MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — At 6:20 a.m., Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall in Emerald Isle, NC as a strong tropical storm with winds of 70 mph. All throughout the morning, the Outer Banks have observed hurricane-force wind gusts (>74 mph) along with several inches of rain since yesterday morning. Radar estimates 3-6″ have fallen in coastal North Carolina. The Outer Bank is also likely dealing with 3-6 feet of storm surge.
In our area, the impacts are minor. Since the center of circulation made landfall to our north, that means we have offshore flow. Offshore flow will prevent storm surge. There is also not a tornado threat for our area, but North Carolina has had one tornado warning with Ophelia as of 7:30 a.m. Wind gusts will remain between 25-35 mph throughout the morning and early afternoon. Winds calm down tonight. The highest wind gust in our area was in N. Myrtle Beach at 41 mph.
It will continue to be overcast today with on and off-light showers. It is another cool day with temperatures in the low 70s. Tonight will start mostly cloudy, but the cloud cover will break up and move out by tomorrow morning.
Low temperatures tonight will be in the upper-50s and low-60s.
Temperatures will be rebounding tomorrow and could be 10 degrees warmer for some cities. It will be mostly sunny and overall a really nice day. Temperatures will warm a couple of degrees on Monday as well with sunshine continuing.
Tuesday will be partly sunny with a small rain chance. A cold front will begin moving through the area. This will cool temperatures back to the upper-70s for the remainder of the workweek.
