ROANOKE, Va. – Ian, as of 2 a.m. Friday, is a Category 1 hurricane poised to make landfall on South Carolina’s coast.
Below, we break down Ian’s impact on our area, rain timing and peak wind gusts.
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What impacts to expect
Ian will maintain tropical storm status to our south, but it’s a large storm.
Therefore, the wind field and the rain shield will move south to north throughout the day Friday. This will result in localized flooding and/or power outages late Friday into Friday night.
We don’t expect long-lasting impacts, but Ian will be troublesome during and after Friday afternoon’s commute.
The threat for a tornado is very low, given how cool we’ll be.
When does the rain move in? How much will we get?
Light rain on the outer edge of the storm will move into Southside during the morning, spreading north from there throughout the day Friday. It will be breezy and cool, making for a raw feel throughout the day.
As we get closer to the evening commute, the rain becomes heavier. Expect this to last off and on into the night, with wind gusts increasing from south to north between 5 p.m. and Midnight.
(Keep reading for more information on the wind.)
Off and on rain continues overnight, as the wind gradually drops off from south to north.
We’re left with lighter rain Saturday morning. This is forecast to gradually drift north and out of the area throughout the day Saturday.
We’ll see showers re-develop at times Sunday into early Monday morning.
When all is over with, most of the area will have accumulated 2-4″ of rain.
It’s important to note, however, that a large chunk of that happens late Friday into Saturday morning.
That’s when we expect localized flooding to occur, whether it’s flash flooding or flooding from streams and creeks.
Can we talk about the wind?
Ian, admittedly, is a bit stronger off the East Coast than initially forecast.
That changes our wind gust forecast a bit heading into late Friday and Friday night. Southside will see the worst of the wind, as you’re closer to the storm’s center. Keep in mind these are gusts, not sustained wind speeds.
Farther north, you’ll see gusts peak between 30 and 40 mph up until Midnight.
How cool are we going to be?
A northeast breeze will keep things unusually cool over the next few days. That starts Friday with highs only in the 50s.
This weekend, temperatures will be in the 60s in areas east of the Parkway. The rest of the area will peak in the 50s.