Isaias likely to move through NC along I-95 corridor. Prepare for flooding and outages.
Tropical Storm Isaias is now expected to become a hurricane again before coming ashore late Monday and moving up the Interstate 95 corridor through North Carolina, bringing heavy wind and rain as far west as the Triangle.
Forecasters say Isaias will likely make landfall somewhere between Myrtle Beach and Wilmington, headed north-northeastward. The National Weather Service has issued a hurricane warning for the coast from South Santee River in South Carolina to Surf City.
As of 8 a.m. Monday, the center of Isaias was about 100 miles east southeast of Jacksonville, Florida, with top sustained winds of 70 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Wake County could receive up to 4 inches of rain and see wind gusts of up to 40 mph, forecasters say. Nick Petro, a weather service meteorologist based in Raleigh, said people will want to bring in lawn furniture and anything else that isn’t secured to keep it from blowing around.
Areas along I-95 could see more than 6 inches of rain and wind gusts topping 60 mph, Petro said, which could cause widespread power outages east of Raleigh.
“Forty, 50, 60 mph wind gusts will give you a lot of tree damage,” he said during a news briefing Sunday.
All of southeastern North Carolina, from the South Carolina line to Johnston County, was under a tropical storm warning as of 5 p.m. Sunday, and that area has been expanded up to the Virginia state line. A warning means tropical storm force winds are expected within 36 hours.
Meanwhile, the weather service has issued a tropical storm watch for Wake, Harnett and Franklin counties. A flash flood watch was issued for a broader area of eastern and central North Carolina, including Chatham, Durham and Orange counties, from 2 p.m. Monday to 2 p.m. Tuesday.
Evacuations ordered along NC coast
On Friday, it appeared Isaias would move along the coast of North Carolina as a hurricane. As of midday Saturday, local officials had ordered evacuations for Hatteras and Ocracoke islands, as well as Ocean Isle Beach and Holden Beach.
By noon Sunday, ferries had evacuated 1,580 cars and trucks and 3,335 people from Ocracoke, according to the state Department of Transportation. NCDOT halted ferries on Pamlico Sound on Sunday afternoon and planned to make the last run from Ocracoke to Hatteras at 10:30 a.m. Monday.
Meanwhile, swift water rescue teams from the Triangle were deployed to the National Guard Armory in Williamston, 100 miles east of Raleigh, in case they’re needed in the low-lying areas of the coastal plain.
After passing over the Bahamas, Isaias weakened to a tropical storm and was not expected to recover its previous strength. But with Isaias remaining off the coast of Florida and Georgia on Monday, forecasters now think some strengthening is likely.
Meanwhile, forecasters still think the storm will take a more westward track, meaning less wind, rain and coastal flooding than initially feared. New Bern is expected to receive half as much rain as Raleigh, and the Outer Banks may see less than an inch, according to the weather service.
Still, dangerous rip currents are possible, as is tidal flooding.
“We’re still not out of the woods in terms of storm surge,” Petro said. “But it’s not as bad as it could be if it was a track further east or a stronger storm.”
‘It’s only going to be a tropical storm’
In Wrightsville Beach, hordes of sun worshippers shrugged off the approaching storm Sunday, crowding on the sand for a blistering, cloudless day.
“It’s only going to be a tropical storm,” said Tom Hanna, an amateur photographer out taking pictures. “I live on the sound, and I’m not pulling my boat. Just tie it up good.”
Dozens of surfers flocked to Johnnie Mercers Pier, hoping Isaias would whip up big surf. But the storm failed to impress even them.
“It’s not quite good because of the wind,” said Ian Arcuri of Raleigh. “Not super. I think the storm is a little too close, meaning it’s a little choppy. Yesterday was perfect, but I wasn’t here.”
Storefronts typically boarded up for hurricanes went without plywood Sunday, their veteran owners guessing against damage. The only sign of a looming threat was a Weather Channel van out gathering footage, passing by the Shark Bar and Kitchen where diners paid no notice, sipping their piña coladas.
Up the coast on Emerald Isle, waves were running 2 to 3 feet high and a south-to-southwest wind was blowing at about 15 mph, enough to hold beach canopies aloft and make tourists have to plant their umbrellas a little deeper than normal in the sand.
Otherwise, it looked like a perfect day on the coast: businesses open, houses rented, visitors enjoying meals and drinks at restaurants with outdoor patios.
“I’m not saying we might not get something worse later in the season,” said Marshall Cullers, a maintenance mechanic who drove from Jacksonville to the Bogue Inlet Pier on Sunday. “But right now, I don’t think this is going to be too bad.”
Patricia Poole, a retired trooper for the State Highway Patrol who lives at Emerald Isle, spent Sunday morning moving her boat from a marina in Bogue Sound to a spot 6 miles inland, just in case Isaias brings a storm surge to coastal waters. After that, she stopped at the pier to walk out and get a look at the surf.
Poole understands the threat tropical storms and hurricanes pose; during Hurricane Florence in 2018 she stayed with a friend on the island, and they were trapped for six days because of flooding from the storm.
As of Sunday, forecasts were calling for Isaias to bring an inch or two of rain to this part of the coast.
“We need it,” Poole said. But until then, she added, “It looks like people are really enjoying the day.”
Roy Cooper says NC prepared for Isaias
Isaias is expected to pick up speed after it makes landfall. Forecasters expect the center of the storm will be over Wilson by 8 a.m. Tuesday and in southeastern Virginia by noon, bringing an end to the wind and rain along the I-95 corridor in North Carolina by early afternoon.
That speed, and the relatively dry ground, should help mitigate against severe flooding in Eastern North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper said Sunday afternoon.
“Thing is, though, if you have up to 7 inches dumped on a place at one time, then you remain concerned about those flash floods and river flooding and potential flooding that can occur a day or two later if the rivers rise,” Cooper said at a press briefing.
Cooper said the state is prepared for either a coastal storm or the inland track forecasters now predict.
“We know the track can change even again as it approaches North Carolina,” he said. “We’re just pretty sure that both the central part of the state and the coastal plain are going to see some rain and wind and power outages, so everybody needs to be careful about that.”
Cooper issued a state of emergency for Isaias on Friday. On Sunday, President Donald Trump approved a disaster declaration, making the state and local governments in 25 eastern counties eligible for federal reimbursement for storm-related expenses.
This story was originally published August 2, 2020 at 11:27 AM.
