What was once dubbed Invest 99L on Thursday off the southeastern coast of the U.S. is now being called Potential Tropical Cyclone Sixteen by the National Hurricane Center.
That change allows the NHC to issue Tropical Storm Warnings in anticipation of Potential Tropical Cyclone Sixteen as it spins off the coast of Florida on a track that will take it into the mid-Atlantic this weekend.
WHAT IS A POTENTIAL TROPICAL CYCLONE?
This system is forecast to become a tropical storm as it approaches the coast of North Carolina, earning the name Ophelia once it’s found to have winds of at least 39 mph.
The NHC has issued a Tropical Storm Warning from Cape Fear, North Carolina, to Fenwick Island, Delaware, including Albemarle and Pamlico sounds in North Carolina and the Chesapeake Bay south of Smith Point, Virginia.
A Tropical Storm Warning is issued when tropical-storm-force winds (39-plus mph) are expected in the warning area within 36 hours. These winds may be accompanied by storm surge, coastal flooding and/or river flooding.
A Storm Surge Watch has been issued from Surf City, North Carolina, to Chincoteague, Virginia, and for the Chesapeake Bay south of Smith Point, Virginia, including Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds in North Carolina.
WHAT TO DO WHEN HURRICANE OR TROPICAL STORM WATCHES AND WARNINGS ARE ISSUED FOR YOUR TOWN
Potential Tropical Cyclone Sixteen is located about 370 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and is moving to the north at 10 mph. It has maximum sustained winds of 35 mph with higher gusts.
Potential Tropical Cyclone Sixteen will continue to head to the north through early Friday. The NHC said a north-northwestward to northward motion is expected by late Friday and will continue into the weekend.
On that track, the NHC says the center of the system will approach the coast of North Carolina within the Tropical Storm Warning area on Friday night and early Saturday.
Potential Tropical Cyclone Sixteen is expected to cause a storm surge along the coast, as well as produce heavy rain and strong winds.
“People need to not get hung up on the whole ‘does this get a name?’ thing,” FOX Weather meteorologist Britta Merwin said. “Because the impact really does not change.”
The FOX Forecast Center expects impacts from the storm system to begin on Friday as it spins closer to the Southeast and mid-Atlantic coasts.
Several inches of rain are expected to fall from Florida to the Northeast and New England during the event, and strong winds pushing in from the ocean could lead to flash flooding and coastal flooding.
Power outages are also a concern due to the whipping winds that could bring down trees onto power lines.