Hurricane Imelda is pulling away from the United States on Tuesday as light rain falls across North Carolina.
Imelda, which never made landfall in the U.S., brought waves of rain to the state on Monday and scattered showers for the Tuesday morning commute. By Tuesday afternoon, the rain will become more isolated.
While both storms are far offshore, Imelda and weakening Hurricane Humberto will cause the coast to experience rough surf and rip currents for the remainder of the week.
Hurricane Imelda moving away from United States
In the latest 2 p.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center, Imelda remained a Category 1 storm and continued to strengthen with maximum sustained winds at 85 mph. The storm is now pulling away from the U.S., and hurricane warnings are being issued in Bermuda.
Part of NC Highway 12 will be closed for several days due to overwash on the north end of Ocracoke Island. In Buxton, Dare County confirmed that five homes have collapsed on the beach. No injuries were reported in the collapses.
Also a Category 1 storm, Hurricane Humberto is weakening as it continues to pull Imelda away from the East Coast.
As both storms move farther away from the U.S., the rain we’re seeing locally will begin to taper off, leaving behind a breezy, mild day with highs in the low 70s.
“We’ll continue to notice the rain thinning out,” WRAL meteorologist Chris Michaels said.
Scattered, light rain could continue to fall through Tuesday afternoon, but no flooding has been reported, and the evening commute will be much drier.
By the afternoon and evening, we’re just looking at isolated sprinkles, WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said, adding we’re “mainly dry” by Tuesday evening.
The next few days will be breezy, and we’ll enjoy a drop in the humidity, especially beginning Wednesday morning, which will be in the 50s.
Imelda’s impacts felt in the Triangle, at the coast
Imelda did not bring significant impacts to central North Carolina, but the majority of the impacts were felt on Monday when a steady rain fell across the Triangle.
A tree fell in Holly Springs on Trotter Bluffs Drive on Monday evening. Earlier in the day, a tree fell and hit a power line in a residential neighborhood on Plantation Drive near Southwest Maynard Road in Cary. The road was closed as firefighters and police tried to clear the scene, while Duke Energy crews worked on power line repairs.
There were no injuries or major impacts in either instance.
At the coast, a waterspout was spotted at Emerald Isle on Monday.
For those headed to North Carolina’s beaches, high rip current risks are likely throughout the week at the coast. The Outer Banks will experience rough surf all week, with 6-to-10-foot seas.
Seas appeared rough and choppy at Ocean Isle Beach on Monday afternoon, and a red flag warning was in effect. Rip currents, beach erosion and coastal flooding are all threats at the coast.
Gov. Josh Stein said threats may continue throughout the week and beachgoers should stay out of the water. Although forecasts have the storm moving away from the Carolinas, Stein said that’s no reason not to prepare. The state has sent resources to the coast to be available if needed.
Duke Energy, Red Cross were ready to respond
By Sunday, WRAL meteorologists were forecasting that Hurricane Humberto would pull Imelda away from the East Coast.
WRAL News on Monday talked with Jeff Brooks, a spokesperson from Duke Energy, about how emergency preparations changed once Imelda’s forecasted impact lessened.
“Imelda really could have been a significant storm for the Carolinas; it’s something we’ve been watching for the last few days,” Brooks said.
Imelda did not bring significant winds or power outages to North Carolina, but previous tracks showing the storm coming ashore told a different story.
“We really saw a scenario that was going to be significant rainfall and significant wind gusts for a long time,” Brooks said, comparing the slow-moving storm to Florence. He called the track change, which sends the storm to the east, a “godsend.”
“It was fantastic for us … it just wasn’t a time that we wanted to see another storm come through here,” Brooks said.
Gov. Josh Stein declared a State of Emergency on Saturday as the state prepared for heavy rain and the possibility of impacts from Imelda, which at that time was Tropical Depression 9.
In a news release from the governor’s office, officials said the state’s emergency response team was preparing swift water rescue teams, search and rescue task forces, law enforcement, National Guard, and other resources to support local responses if needed.
