Federal warning issued over tropical storm that will pound the Carolinas and East Coast with strong winds this weekend

A menacing tropical storm threatens to hit the East Coast with high winds and life-threatening storm surges that could cause heavy rain and flash flooding.

It’s called Potential Tropical Cyclone 16 and is expected to become a tropical storm starting Friday as it approaches the North Carolina coast.

The storm, which has formed off the coast of Florida, will be named Ophelia once it shows winds of at least 60 kilometers per hour.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has issued a tropical storm warning for areas including Cape Fear, Albemarle and Pamlico Sound in North Carolina, as well as southern Delaware, southeastern Virginia and parts of the Chesapeake Bay.

Residents in these areas have been told to follow the advice of local officials while the warning is in effect.

Coastal communities from North Carolina to the Delmarva Peninsula are also under a storm surge warning or watch.

Potential Tropical Cyclone 16 is located approximately 350 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina and is moving northward at a speed of 9 miles per hour.

It currently has maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour with higher gusts.

The storm will continue to move north early Friday before making a north-northwest to north move that will continue into the weekend.

The center of the system will approach the North Carolina coast Friday evening and early Saturday morning before potential Tropical Cyclone 16 continues northward near or through Virginia and Maryland.

Much of the Interstate 95 corridor is within track until Monday morning, including Washington DC, New York City and southern New England.

Potential Tropical Cyclone 16 is expected to cause a life-threatening storm surge along the coast, bringing heavy rain and high winds.

Several inches of rain are expected to fall from Florida to the Northeast and New England.

Strong winds pushing in from the ocean can also cause both coastal flooding and flash flooding.

Potential Tropical Cyclone Sixteen could bring five to four inches of rain, with as much as six inches in eastern parts of the Mid-Atlantic states from North Carolina to New Jersey, according to forecasters.

Areas of northeastern and southern New England could see two to three inches of rain.

There are concerns about power outages due to high winds that could topple trees on power lines.

Ferry services between the Outer Banks and the mainland have already been suspended as of Friday due to the threat of rough seas.

The NHC defines a potential tropical cyclone as something that threatens tropical storm or hurricane conditions and will make landfall within 48 hours.

By pinpointing one, it can provide warnings ahead of future developments.

“So this is another one of those tricky things where the center and the impact zone are going to be well separated,” hurricane specialist Bryan Norcross said. Fox again.

A dangerous storm surge combined with tides can cause normally dry areas along the coast to flood as rising water moves inland.

The highest storm surge levels caused by potential Tropical Cyclone 16 are expected to occur in eastern North Carolina, estimated at three to five feet.

“We also have Storm Surge Watches because the Storm Surge Watch means the water could be more than three feet above high tide,” Norcross said.

“If we look at that in more detail, we see it’s up to three feet deep there – northern South Carolina down into North Carolina.

‘Then there is a kind of pinnacle at Cape Hatteras: Cape Hatteras and then to the north. So we’re talking about Pamlico Sound and then also Chesapeake Bay and the southern half of Chesapeake Bay.”