PIX11

Ian aims at Carolinas; its remnants to bring rain to NY this weekend

Tracking Ian:

After pounding central Florida with a catastrophic winds and flooding, Ian gradually weakened to a Tropical Storm early on Thursday. In the afternoon, the storm emerged off the coast of northeastern Florida into the Atlantic, where it re-intensified back to a hurricane.

The storm is expect to track north and make a second landfall in the Carolinas on Friday. Hurricane and storm surge warnings are in effect already in anticipation. While the Carolinas are not going to see the devastating fury that Ian caused along the Florida Gulf Coast, they’re still going to see a great deal of flooding and that will be very dangerous for those that do not the heed warnings from public officials.

The rain has already started along the coast of the Carolinas and will ramp up into the nighttime hours. While this storm will not be as intense as it was just 24 hours ago, it will still bring as much as a foot of rain in the Carolinas. All that rain may cause significant river flooding that may last into next week. 

Along the coast, there may be a 4 to 7 foot storm surge that could also be life threatening as well
Tropical storm force winds have already been felt as far north as South Carolina. As the storm tracks north, hurricane conditions may develop along the Carolinas by early Friday morning with landfall expected sometime during the middle part of the day. 

Moving down the road, the main area of circulation will gradually weaken as it tracks into the Appalachians, but it will feed up tropical moisture up the eastern seaboard into our region by early Saturday. 

NY, NJ forecast:

It will be a cool and crisp night for some. A Frost Advisory has been issued for the Catskills as temperatures up north will dip into the 30s.

Around New York City, there will be some high clouds already associated with Ian. Temperatures along coastal sections will dip into the low to mid 50s.

Gradually, the clouds will thicken on Friday with temperatures holding in the mid 60s. Rain from Ian may develop as early as late Friday night.

Much of the rain will hold off until Saturday and the threat of showers will continue into Sunday. We do not expect the entire weekend to be a total wash. Expect some breaks in the rain, especially on Sunday. The rain may turn heavy at times and cause localized flooding on area roadways.

Along the shoreline, there will be persistent easterly flow that may cause some coastal flooding as the weekend progresses. By Sunday, we may see wind gusts to over 30 mph at times, increasing the threat of flooding. Minor to moderate coastal flooding may be a possibility as a result.