NORFOLK, Va. — The 13News Now Weather Team has issued a Weather Alert Day starting Friday at noon and continuing through 6 p.m., due to the potential for severe weather.
A period of showers and isolated heavier tropical downpours are anticipated Friday afternoon across northeast North Carolina and southeast Virginia, as Hurricane Helene's center is set to pass by hundreds of miles to our southwest and west.
While some areas in Hampton Roads may not see a tremendous amount of rain, rainfall totals between .25" and 1.50" are expected, with locally higher amounts possible.
There is a marginal risk of severe weather across southeast Virginia and a slight risk over northeast North Carolina. Smaller, isolated short-lived tornadoes may develop in heavier squalls.
SEVERE WEATHER & TORNADO THREAT
The severe weather threat for Friday is Level 2 for southeast Virginia and northeast North Carolina. There is a level 1 threat for areas north of Hampton, into the Peninsula and Eastern Shore. With some of the locally heavy cells expected to push through the region, there is a risk of small, short-lived, spin-up tornadoes.
Whenever a tropical system moves onto land, it can lead to increased wind shear within the atmosphere, which creates a conducive environment for tornadoes. Luckily the threat is not very high, but the threat does exist Friday afternoon.
Emergency managers in Virginia and North Carolina will need to monitor central and western parts of the states as the likelihood of flooding is greater in those areas.
FLASH FLOODING POTENTIAL
The time of greatest concern for heavy downpours is between noon and 6 p.m. on Friday.
After Hurricane Helene makes landfall Thursday evening around the Big Bend region of Florida, it will move north through Georgia. The center is then expected to turn toward the northwest and eventually to the west.
The system will weaken as it moves over land, but it is expected to produce very heavy rain for much of the southeast United States and over the Tennessee River Valley. The mountains of North Carolina will likely see flooding rain. Heavy rain is also possible over western Virginia and the Piedmont as well.
Models project a large band of heavy precipitation will swing out from the center of the system and push through northeast North Carolina and southeast Virginia on Friday. The exact threats and impacts will be determined by how things evolve after Helene makes landfall. A track shift farther west or east could significantly affect what we see in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Stay tuned to 13News Now for updates!