What to know
The National Weather Servicemeteorologists earlier predicted up to four inches of rain near Charlotte and a possible tornado south of Interstate 85.
The storm system is expected tobring winds with speeds between 20-30 miles per hour and gusts of up to 50 miles per hour to the area Tuesday. Gusts up to 75 miles per hour were expected along the Tennessee border, in higher elevations across the mountains and in coastal areas, officials said Tuesday morning.
“The Governor and NC Emergency Management officials are urging North Carolinians to be safe and cautious during heavy rainfall and winds, and to expect flooding and power outages as a strong weather system will impact the state Tuesday,” Cooper’s administration wrote in a news release.
Heavy rain could cause flooding
Most rain was expected to fall before 4 p.m., with storms lasting until about 6:30 p.m., according to the NWS. Both gusts and surface winds will peak around 3 p.m.
Meteorologists warned rainfall in the South Fork Catawba watershed will “overwhelm saturated soils and result in excessive runoff and significant stream rises” across southeastern Burke County, Catawba County, Lincoln County and Gaston County, with several small tributaries of the South Fork Catawba River possibly exceeding bank full and causing minor to moderate flooding of adjacent areas as early as late Tuesday morning.
School cancellations, airport delays, power outages
The storms, which cover southern Alabama, central and northern Georgia and eastern Tennessee, caused Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, surrounding districts and some private schools to shutter schools Tuesday.
On Tuesday morning, about 130 Charlotte residents were without power, according to Duke Energy’s outage map.
As of 10 a.m., 12 flights were canceled and 51 flights were delayed out of Charlotte-Douglas International Airport, according toFlightAware.
“The main issue is that heavy rain will saturate the soil, and the prolonged gusty winds could topple trees and power lines,” Jeffrey Taylor, a meteorologist at the National Weather Serviceoffice in Greer, told The Charlotte Observer.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
©2024 The Charlotte Observer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
