North Carolina will see some indirect impacts from Hurricane Isaias

Ethan Clark

October 8, 2026 at 11:50:44 AM

🌀 Hurricane Isaias Update: Good afternoon, everyone. I know you've been waiting for this; here's my forecast update on Isaias's indirect impacts on North Carolina this weekend. The positives: This is NOT a repeat of Helene by any means at all, so please don't think that! The weekend isn't a total washout; there will be dry time, and the storm is moving fast enough to clear out pretty quickly. The world is not ending here in NC, and we will be just fine. Don't stress. Isaias became a Hurricane overnight and will keep strengthening until landfall, and it will make landfall along the Florida/Alabama-Mississippi coast on Friday evening; significant impacts are likely in these areas. This update will cover impacts in NC, though. Even though Isaias's center will go into Tennessee and not impact NC directly, we will get indirect impacts from the outer bands and the surrounding front.

📌Here's how I think it'll play out:

RAIN: Scattered to isolated showers will be around across the state Saturday morning, and but there will be breaks and dry time for sure Saturday morning into the afternoon; coverage looks pretty hit or miss. Saturday afternoon and evening rain chances ramp up, especially west and along the coast, it seems; some rain could be heavy at times by the time the evening and overnight rolls along. Sunday morning rain will be around hit or miss throughout the state, and start clearing out Sunday PM/evening. The race in Charlotte is trending drier btw.

Amounts Image 2: Rainfall through Sunday PM, we will see generally 1-2 inches along the high mountains, and in Central and Northern NC. At this point, we're not expecting much flooding; we would only see some if a storm trains over the same area. Most of these areas desperately need the rain. 2-4 inches in the orange-area parts of the mountians/foothills and then coastal areas. Along the coast, the front could enhance rain at times, so we could see some bursts of heavy rainfall. Across the Foothills and Blue Ridge Escarpment, we could see some localized flooding in flood-prone areas if heavier rain sets up, so we will watch it. The rainfall forecast is still fluid, and with any tropical system can change, so stay tuned and don't take it literally this is using my best knowledge of the setup and models to make this.

Wind: Winds will really not be a concern but some gusty winds of 20-35MPH are possible with up to 45MPH in the mountians, maybe a couple of isolated outages in the mountians but I am really not concerned about this.

Tornado Threat: Given that NC is on the right side of the storm, and high wind shear is around, especially late Saturday into Sunday, we could see a low-end tornado threat develop in parts of Eastern/Central NC late Saturday night into Sunday, but the threat is fluid and not a certainty right now. So, stay tuned; overall, it looks pretty low. I'm watching, of course.

😎The Bottom Line: The world is not ending; we will be just fine. Minimal overall impact: This system is moving fast and isn't a repeat of Helene; the weekend won't be a washout and will feature plenty of dry time, including a trending-dry race in Charlotte. Rainfall: Expect 1 to 2 inches of rain across central and northern areas, and 2 to 4 inches in the mountains, foothills, and coast, bringing mostly beneficial moisture but a localized risk of flooding in vulnerable spots. Minor Wind & Low Tornado Risk: Sustained winds and gusts (20–35 MPH, up to 45 MPH in the mountains) are mostly a minor nuisance, though a low-end, highly fluid tornado threat will be monitored across Eastern and Central NC late Saturday night into Sunday. Stay tuned on that. This is the forecast as I see it now, but remember it is a science and things can and will change, so I'll do my best to keep you posted!

Mountains

110°F

Raleigh area

CADEN NELSON

MAJOR ICE THREAT COMING

ncwxauthority

Nov 13, 2018

2 min read

Another system will start moving into NC Wednesday night into Thursday, it looks like this will be our first Winter Storm of the 2018-2019 Winter Season well at least for some. Winter Storm Watch for: Ashe, Avery, Alleghany, Alexander, Yancey, Mitchell, Buncombe, Transylvania, Henderson, Caldwell, Burke, McDowell, Rutherford, Polk, Surry, Watauga, and Wilkes County

WHAT: An icy mix, freezing rain and maybe some sleet is possible. Starting early Thursday morning the current areas that are going to see Freezing Rain will be: Northern Mountains, Western Piedmont (Winston Salem West) Foothills, and Yadkin Valley. Shallow, cold air will be trapped at the surface, with warmer air aloft. This sets the stage for a nasty ice storm across these areas through much of the morning on Thursday. It is possible that it will be cold enough for sleet to being in all areas first before quickly changing over to Freezing Rain.

Below is the forecast map, currently forecasting up to a haft of an inch of freezing rain for areas north and west of Hickory, Yadkin Valley, Boone, Mount Airy, and the High Country. Current forecast elsewhere is quarter of an inch of ice for areas in Light pink.

WHEN: Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Generally 11pm-11am. WHERE: Mountains and Foothills mostly, but still watching in the Triad for some ice still too soon to nail that down. WHAT: Freezing rain and sleet, potential for ice accumulation IMPACTS: Any icing could weigh down trees, especially those with leaves on them. Downed branches / trees / power lines can be expected if enough ice accumulates. Some slick spots are possible on bridges and overpasses, but most roadways should be fine given our ground temperatures.

Although ground and road temperatures are relatively warm, the amount and rate of the precipitation will help to cool the ground, and I think we will start seeing accumulations even on main highways, but bridges, overpasses, and secondary roads will be the worst or any exposed above ground objects walkway ect..

Stay with us for more information as the system get closer!

Mountains

Raleigh area

MAJOR ICE THREAT COMING

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