By Sarah Brumfield and Brian Witte

Tropical Storm Ophelia formed off the mid-Atlantic coast and was expected to bring heavy rain, storm surge and windy conditions over the weekend, the National Hurricane Center said Friday.

Ophelia had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph (95 kph), according to a 2 p.m. advisory from the Miami-based center. The storm was centered 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, and was forecast to make landfall Saturday morning.

Virginia’s governor declared a state of emergency Friday and the intensifying weather system forced schools to close early and canceled weekend events.

Rain was already moving inland across North Carolina by midday Friday with some areas expected to get up to 7 inches (17.7 centimeters) across eastern parts of the state and into southeast Virginia, forecasters said. Storm surge warning was in effect for some areas, with surges between 3 and 5 feet (0.9 to 1.5 meters) forecast for parts of North Carolina, the hurricane center reported.

The system’s center is expected to move inland over eastern North Carolina and southeastern Virginia and near the Chesapeake Bay through Sunday, Mike Brennan, the hurricane center’s director, said in a livestreamed briefing on Friday.

A storm surge warning was in effect from Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina, to Chincoteague, Virginia, and a tropical storm warning was issued from Cape Fear, North Carolina to Fenwick Island, Delaware.

Nancy Shoemaker and her husband Bob stopped by a waterside park in downtown Annapolis, Maryland's capital, to pick up sandbags to help protect their waterfront home.

Last year, at the end of October, they experienced a big surge of water that came into their yard and even washed some sandbags away.

“We’re hoping it won’t be that way this time,” Nancy Shoemaker said. “If we have a lot of wind and a lot of surge, it can look like the ocean out there, so that’s a problem.”

The weather was already affecting water taxis in Annapolis, where water taxi driver Scott Bierman said service would shut down at 6 p.m., and the decision had already been made to close Saturday.

“We don’t operate when it’s going to endanger passengers and or damage vessels,” Bierman said.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency Friday afternoon, issuing an executive order intended to ease response and recovery efforts.

“As this storm has organized and strengthened, it’s becoming clear based on the latest forecasts that impacts to the commonwealth are likely,” Youngkin said in a statement. “We want to ensure that all communities, particularly those with the greatest anticipated impact, have the resources they need to respond and recover from the effects of this storm.”

The governor encouraged residents to prepare an emergency kit and follow the weather forecast closely.

Schools in coastal areas of North Carolina and Virginia announced plans to dismiss students early Friday and cancel afterschool and weekend activities.

The North Carolina Ferry System announced it was suspending several routes and the State Emergency Response Team planned to move to an enhanced watch Friday to ease coordination of resources, the governor’s office said.

The forecast prompted the cancellation of events across the region, including the Kunta Kinte Heritage Festival, which had been set to return to City Dock in Annapolis on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Nigel was downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone centered about 640 miles (1,030 kilometers) northwest of the Azores with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph). There were no associated coastal watches or warnings as the storm moved northeast at 37 mph (59 kph), the hurricane center said in its final update on the system Friday morning.

Share:
More In Science
Bill Gates' Climate Fund to Invest $15 Billion in Global Clean Tech Initiatives
Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, a private-public fund backed by Bill Gates, is planning to invest up to $15 billion in clean technology initiatives across the U.S., UK, and European Union. It will target four key areas and help fund large projects that otherwise would not be financially possible. Bobby Hollis, Director of Breakthrough Energy Catalyst, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Schools Open Across the Nation Amid Omicron Anxiety
Chicago schools opened their doors again following a dispute between the teachers union and the city over as the omicron variant continues to surge, but the safety issues they fought over weren't just limited to the Windy City. Dr. Bayo Curry-Winchell, family medicine and urgent care doctor, joined Cheddar in discussing concerns of parents, teachers, and students as schools try to operate amid COVID and noted what she's been observing as the number of infections among children rises. "I am seeing them contract the illness from so many different aspects," she said. "It could be from a fellow classmate. It could be from a parent. All of those things really play in the effect of transmission as well as contracting the illness."
Terraformation Raised $30 Million to Scale Global Forest Restoration Projects
One startup is working to reverse climate change one seed at a time. Terraformation is a global forest accelerator that provides tools, training, financing, and business support to help scale forest restoration projects worldwide. Forests naturally absorb carbon and Terraformation says that reforestation is a safe, low-cost, and scalable solution to the climate crisis. Yee Lee, VP of growth at Terraformation, joins Cheddar Climate to discuss.
The Space Race In 2022
2021 was an exciting year for space innovations, but 2022 could hold even more in store. Cheddar took a deep dive into the space mission on tap for the year ahead.
U.S. Purchases 600K Doses of New Antibody Treatment Amid Omicron Surge
The United States purchased over 600,000 doses of a monoclonal antibody treatment from Glaxosmithkline and Vir Biotechnology, bringing the total worldwide doses purchased to 1.7 million. This comes as the country attempts to ramp up treatment options as cases of the omicron variant continue to surge. Dr. Asha Shah, Director of Infectious Diseases at Stamford Health joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
2021: A Rebound of the Economy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
As the pandemic slammed the brakes on the nation's economy in 2020, America's greenhouse gas emissions reached their lowest levels in at least three decades. However, as the world, and the economy re-opened, 2021 told a much different story as emissions surged. Biden's flagship 'Build Back Better' act involves billions in spending on electric cars and renewables, in an effort to cut U.S. emissions, experts are still skeptical that the nation will meet the current 2030 target. Andrew Dessler, professor of atmospheric sciences at Texas A&M University, joins Cheddar News.
Experts Debate Throat vs. Nasal Swabs for Omicron Testing
Amid the omicron surge, a new debate has emerged about whether or not throat swabs are more effective than nasal swabs for COVID testing. Dr. William Schaffner, MD, professor of infectious diseases, Vanderbilt Medical Center, sat down with Cheddar's News Wrap to weigh in on the dispute. "Should there be a change? You've got to do the studies, show that in the field [a throat swab] works as well or better than the nasal specimen," he said. "Let's not do it off our hips, as we say."
State of Emergency Declared in Virginia, as Multiple States Face Extreme Winter Weather
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is declaring a state of emergency after Monday's winter storm left hundreds of drivers stranded on the interstate for more than 24 hours. The snow also knocked out power for many residents, with more than 100,000 outages remaining days later. Michael Wehner, a climate scientist at Lawrence Berkeley national laboratory, discusses recent weather disasters.
Load More