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From Chris Newkirk, Beaufort County Emergency Services

Please see the below and attached briefing from the NWS for the latest update on Hurricane Ian. As previously mentioned, slight changes continue to be made to the forecast,  with general impacts Beaufort County listed below. (Changes from the previous update has been highlighted.)

Rain

• 4 to 6 inches of rain is still being forecasted for our area. Our greatest chance of rain and highest hourly accumulation is currently forecasted to occur between 8pm Friday night and noon Saturday. Heavy downpours capable of causing localized flash flooding is possible during this time.

Winds

• Winds are currently forecasted to be sustained between 15 and 20 mph Thursday through Monday, with gust of 25 – 35 mph possible Thursday and Saturday.

While forecast models are becoming more in agreement, this outlook remains very track dependent, and could change as we go through the week.

We will continue to pass along information as we receive it.

 

From the National Weather Service:

Ian has strengthened into a Hurricane early this morning, and is expected to rapidly intensify over the next 24 hours into a Major Hurricane. Not much has changed regarding the official track forecast, though confidence is increasing that Eastern NC will feel impacts from this system, with the greatest threats continuing to be heavy rainfall and the potential for flash flooding, as well as coastal flooding.

It is still too early to give specific details regarding severity and timing of the coastal flooding impacts, but we will continue to update as forecast confidence and probabilities increase.

Rainfall totals have increased slightly, and we continue to expect the heaviest rainfall along the coast. However, please be aware that the rainfall forecast is highly dependent on the eventual track and speed of Ian through the Southeast US, and the area of maximum rainfall may shift.

We will monitor the progress and evolution of this system and will provide additional briefings as the forecast warrants.

Please see the attached briefing for additional details. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us at (252) 223-5737 Ext. 6. Remember, you can monitor conditions in the tropics at https://www.weather.gov/mhx/tropical.

NWS Newport/Morehead City

NWS Morehead City Hurricane Ian Briefing #5 Sep 26th 2022