RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Cloudy & Cool Today: From the Triangle to areas south and east, the clouds are already substantial enough that temperatures have been held up in the mid to upper 50s; areas to the north and west have been clearer and so are considerably cooler with readings into the 40s now from Roxboro on north and west. With this high cloudiness around, temperatures won't be able to recover as much as they did with the sun out yesterday. Despite the higher start, we still likely only achieve the low 70s in the Triangle this afternoon. Lows tonight will be in the upper 40s and low 50s.
Ian's track looks to be a little farther south into Florida from what we were seeing yesterday, which is good news for Tampa but still bad news in general. As of now, we expect the storm will get back out over water east of Florida and make a second landfall near the GA/SC line later Friday. This spreads the main rain shield from Ian toward our south/southeast spots later Thursday night, with rain overspreading the rest of the region early on Friday. The heaviest rain should be in the afternoon generally, but heavy rain can occur anytime to the south and east. These are the areas that are likely to end up with the highest totals overall; the bulk of the 2-4" we expect around the region should fall Friday/Friday night and perhaps into early on Saturday before the precipitation becomes more showery in nature.
This is also the window during which there will be the highest risk for flooding as due to the tropical nature this rain can come down hard at times. Urban flooding and ponding of water in poor drainage areas look like the biggest risks. Winds will start to pick up tomorrow night and be strongest in that Friday/Friday night time frame as well. The rain and the wind will make it feel rather chilly, only in the 60s.
Cloudy, breezy and showery weather is likely to continue into Sunday as the upper circulation from Ian sits to the west of us, and it likely stays unsettled into at least Monday with that only slowly drifting to the east.
Have a great day!
Kweilyn Murphy
