Hurricane Ian has been downgraded to a tropical storm.
The National Weather Service in Raleigh says that storm may not stick around in North Carolina for as long as originally forecasted. Friday will be the wettest day, and the rain could drop off as early as Saturday morning and be gone from most of the state by Saturday afternoon.
Gov. Roy Cooper has issued a state of emergency order ahead of Ian's expected impact on North Carolina.
The declaration activates the state's emergency operations plan, waives transportation rules to help transport fuel and critical supplies, and cracks down on price gouging. The order also suspends the weighing of vehicles used to transport livestock, poultry or crops ready to be harvested.
Thursday #ncwx update:
— NC Emergency Management (@NCEmergency) September 29, 2022
• Ian is now a tropical storm and is forecast to move off the east coast of Florida later today, curving northward and then eventually north-northwestward towards the coast of South Carolina tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/32QMsOwFw7
Our hearts are with those in Florida, their families and the brave first responders who are being impacted as Hurricane Ian makes landfall. North Carolinians should stay aware, keep a close eye on the forecast and prepare their emergency supplies.
— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) September 28, 2022
Hurricane Ian left a path of destruction in southwest Florida, trapping people in flooded homes, cutting off the only bridge to a barrier island, damaging the roof of a hospital intensive care unit and knocking out power to 2.5 million people as it dumped rain across the peninsula on Thursday.
Ian's tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 415 miles (665 km), drenching much of Florida and the southeastern Atlantic coast.
The National Hurricane Center said Ian became a tropical storm over land early Thursday and was expected to regain near-hurricane strength after emerging over Atlantic waters near the Kennedy Space Center later in the day, with South Carolina in its sights for a second U.S. landfall.
Ian could still impact eastern North Carolina though.
As much as six inches of rain could fall in southern Virginia as the storm moves inland over the Carolinas, and the center said landslides were possible in the southern Appalachian mountains.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Newport say coastal flooding, high surf, beach erosion, and strong rip currents are possible along North Carolina’s coast. Heavy rainfall could also cause localized flooding.
James Jarvis is with the American Red Cross in Cape Fear. He says if some areas are evacuated, it’s best not to wait too long to go.
“If they begin with voluntary evacuations, that's a good time to get on the road, because if you wait until it's mandatory evacuations, you could find yourself stuck in traffic jam, wishing you had left sooner,” Jarvis said.
Jarvis says it’s also important to have a way to stay informed during and after the storm.
WUNC's Mitchell Northam contributed to this report.
