Tropical Storm Ophelia is expected to make landfall in North Carolina – probably near the Outer Banks – within hours.
During the day Friday, the storm was formally upgraded to a Tropical Storm from a Potential Tropical Cyclone.
Tropical Storm Warnings are posted everywhere from North Carolina to Delaware as much of the East Coast braces for its impact this weekend.
The weather in Schuylkill County this weekend will definitely be impacted by Ophelia, too, but certainly not to the extent as it’ll be felt along the shore.
According to the 11 p.m. Friday update from National Hurricane Center, the biggest impacts Schuylkill County will feel from this Tropical Storm will be heavy rain and some wind.
Here’s a look at the latest information from National Hurricane Center compared with the local National Weather Service 7-day forecast to put some real information to the NHC data.
Here’s a look at the storm forecast cone:
You can see Ophelia will come ashore as a Tropical Storm and maintain that status through much of the day Saturday as it moves inland into Virginia.
As the storm begins heading back to the shoreline and into Maryland, forecasters believe Ophelia will be downgraded to a Tropical Depression.
Even though this storm’s center remains well south of us here in Schuylkill County, it doesn’t mean our weather won’t be impacted by it.
During the day Saturday, NWS predicts a 100% chance of rain for Schuylkill County. Rainfall accumulations between a quarter- to a half-inch are expected.
More rain is expected on Saturday night, too, with up to another quarter-inch possible.
That rain will carry on all day and night Sunday, too, according to the forecast. Between three-quarters and one and one-quarter inches of more rain is expected throughout the day and night Sunday.
Rain is likely on Monday morning, too, at least until 9 a.m. Up to another half-inch of rain could fall on Monday here.
If you tally the highest expected amounts of rain from Saturday into Monday, we can expect up to 2.5 inches of rain here in Schuylkill County thanks to Ophelia.
The National Hurricane Center did, however, shrink the inland areas that could expect between 2-4 inches of rain from this tropical system, as you can see on the map below:
Still, it seems about 2 inches of rain between Saturday and Monday is not out of the question here.
There still remains a Slight risk of flash flooding due to Ophelia here:
Expect rain to intensify as the storm moves closer to Schuylkill County, even if begins moving out toward the ocean.
While Schuylkill County is unlikely to experience any Tropical Storm-force winds from Ophelia, it’ll be a rather breezy weekend.
The strongest winds will likely be on Saturday night here, based on this map showing the arrival times of Tropical Storm-force winds:
NWS forecasts some stronger steady winds for us here in Schuylkill County this weekend. Steady wind speeds between 15-18 mph are expected all weekend long. Gusts could be as strong as 29 mph into Sunday before dying down slightly on Sunday night.
THE LATEST: Check back Saturday for the latest updates on Tropical Storm Ophelia and its impact on our weather here in Schuylkill County.
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