FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall Saturday morning in North Carolina, with stormy weather spreading over portions of the state. The same day, Tropical Storm Philippe formed in the central tropical Atlantic and a new tropical wave emerged off the coast of Africa.

After making landfall in North Carolina, Ophelia crossed into Virginia late Saturday afternoon.

As of 5 p.m. Saturday, the storm was located about 50 miles south of Richmond, Virginia, and about 160 miles southwest of Ocean City, Maryland. It was moving north at 12 mph with maximum sustained winds decreasing to 40 mph with higher gusts. Tropical-storm-force winds extend out 310 miles.

The center of Ophelia, which formed Friday afternoon, moved across eastern North Carolina Saturday morning before crossing into southeastern Virginia. It is expected to head toward the Delmarva Peninsula by the end of the day into and Sunday.

Further weakening is expected through the rest of the weekend, and Ophelia is likely to become a post-tropical cyclone Saturday night or Sunday morning.

The threat of tornadoes exists along portions of the mid-Atlantic coast, and areas of North Carolina and southeast Virginia could see 3 to 5 inches of rain with some areas receiving 7 inches.

Some of the watches and warnings issued from South Carolina up through the Washington, D.C., area were discontinued late Saturday afternoon.

Despite moving away from Florida’s east coast to the north, the storm has been causing heavy rainfall and some flooding this past week in South Florida. Swells from Ophelia will affect a large part of the U.S. East Coast over the weekend, forecasters said.

A storm surge warning is in effect from Hatteras Inlet, North Carolina, to Duck, as well as from Colonial Beach, Virginia, to Suffolk.

A tropical storm warning is in effect from Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina, to Fenwick Island, Delaware, the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, Tidal Potomac south of Cobb Island, and Chesapeake Bay south of North Beach.

...continued

©2023 South Florida Sun Sentinel. Visit at sun-sentinel.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.