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

WINTER RETURNS AND A DEVELOPING COASTAL LOW

ncwxauthority

Mar 31, 2019

2 min read

Mother nature has spoiled us the past few day, with warm and sunny weather well that's all about to change. A cold front has moved through the state dramatically dropping the temperatures into the 40s and 50s. I am also monitoring the potential for a strong coastal low to strengthen and move along the coast. Find out more below!

WINTERS LAST BLAST?

This is no April Fool's joke! Temperatures are going to be 20-30 degrees below normal on Monday and Tuesday, with highs only reaching the 50s and lows in the low to mid 30s and 20s. I am expecting a chance for a freeze tonight, and possibly again on Tuesday night across central and western parts of the state. Here's a look at the forecasted lows tonight:

This not uncommon for April normally we see one round of cold weather before the warm weather stays!

COASTAL LOW:

A greater concern for me will be a deepening low pressure system along the coast (coastal low) on Tuesday. Models remain very uncertain of the exact track of the low, How far inland or how far from the coast does it track? Right now I am expecting heavy rain to spread inland along parts of eastern NC, bringing up to an inch of rain and gusty winds especially on the beaches. Additionally, due to the strength and position of the low pressure system I am expecting coastal flooding along the Outer Banks. Stay tuned for updates regarding that tomorrow! Here's a look at the scenarios for Tuesday.

Scenario 1: As predicted by the NAM model the coastal low strengths along our coastline bringing gusty winds, heavy rain, coastal flooding, and winter weather (possible) to the western Piedmont. The short range models have done poorly forecasting over the past few months, thus I don't have any respect for this solution. Some pages have been trying to hype a chance of accumulating snow over the western part of the state for days now, this is the only model with any of a chance and it's not a big at all. Sorry snow lovers don't get your hopes up, you will likely have to wait until next year! Below is a look at the NAM solution!

Scenario 2: The GFS and Euro solutions have a weaker low pressure system with some light to moderate rain along the coast to just inland.

Bottom Line: While both solutions are in play, I am leading more toward the Scenario 2 at this time.

WARMER TIMES AHEAD: Now for some good news! After we get through Tuesday all sighs points toward a SPRING pattern, we can finally see prolong days of warm weather starting Wednesday!

Stay tuned for updates tomorrow and beyond, if you have any questions please message us on the Facebook page not website!