Tropical Storm Elsa may bring rain, flooding to NC. Here’s what you need to know.
Tropical Storm Elsa — now downgraded from hurricane status — may threaten heavy rain and flooding in the Triangle in the next week, as the storm’s current path is expected to bring it into North Carolina by Thursday.
The storm was passing over Haiti and the Dominican Republic on Saturday, and expected to hit Jamaica, according to the National Hurricane Center.
From there, Elsa is expected to move through Cuba into Florida and the rest of the southeastern U.S. coast.
Elsa was downgraded to a tropical storm from a hurricane Saturday morning, but a hurricane warning remained for Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
The 11 a.m. update said the storm was expected to hit Cuba on Sunday.
James Danco, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Raleigh, said it was still too early to predict the storm’s precise path.
“It’s looking increasingly likely that we’ll at least get some rain, most likely on Thursday,” he said, adding that Elsa is forecast to have become a weak tropical storm by the time it reaches the Carolinas. “But the cone is pretty large at that point, so there’s quite a bit of uncertainty.”
Danco said the storm could miss N.C. and the Triangle, or have minimal impact by the time it does arrive.
“It’s got potentially a lot of mountainous terrain to go over, and Haiti and then Cuba, that could really help to weaken and tear it apart,” he said.
Danco added there’s a chance of heavy rainfall and flooding in the state, but said it’s still too far out to be able to say with certainty. Tornadoes and other wind threats are also possible.
“The more time it spends on the water, the more of a wind threat there would likely be,” Danco said. “But at this point, it’s looking like there’s a good chance it’ll be over land for quite a while.”
He said people living in the Triangle don’t need to start preparing for severe weather yet, but should be watching for more information in the coming days.
This story was originally published July 3, 2021 at 10:13 AM with the headline "Tropical Storm Elsa may bring rain, flooding to NC. Here’s what you need to know.."