Hurricane Delta: NC mountains brace for deluge, Charlotte to skirt full brunt, NWS says
The North Carolina mountains were bracing for a deluge from the remnants of Hurricane Delta on Saturday, while Charlotte was expected to skirt the brunt of the storm, National Weather Service meteorologists said.
“Heavy, tropical rain showers may produce flash flooding in and near the mountains late today through late Sunday,” NWS meteorologists in the Greer, S.C., office tweeted about 7 a.m.
Parts of the mountains could see 3 to 4 inches of rain, while only an inch to 1 1/2 inches is expected in Charlotte, according to the latest NWS rainfall forecast early Saturday.
Iredell, Lincoln and Catawba counties could see up to 3 inches in some parts, according to the NWS.
“Isolated severe thunderstorms will be possible along and southeast of I-85 Sunday afternoon and early evening,” the NWS tweeted.
Charlotte has a 70% chance of showers on Saturday and an 80% chance on Sunday, before the system begins to move from the area Sunday night, according to the latest NWS forecast Saturday morning.
Highs could reach 73 on Saturday and 76 on Sunday before leaping to 80 degrees on Columbus Day and 82 degrees Tuesday.
Delta made landfall in Louisiana Friday night as a Category 2 hurricane but weakened to a tropical storm overnight.
At 8 a.m. Saturday, Delta was dumping heavy rains and producing tropical storm force winds of 45 mph in northeastern Louisiana, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Delta is the 10th named storm to make landfall in the U.S. this year, breaking the record set in set in 1916, according to the NWS.
The hurricane made landfall 12 miles east of where Hurricane Laura did on Aug. 27, NWS meteorologists said.
This story was originally published October 10, 2020 at 10:27 AM.