Wayne County to experience wind gusts and rain
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 6, 2016 9:58 AM
Wayne County residents can expect wind gusts of up to 40 miles per hour and possibly a half to one inch of rain or more between Friday night into Saturday night as Hurricane Matthew continues up the East Coast before making a sharp turn away from the North Carolina coast.
While it appears that the area will be spared the full fury of the powerful storm, the additional rain on top of the already saturated ground could make conditions ripe for the wind to topple trees and branches.
The rain could be moderate to heavy at times between Friday night and Saturday, said Mike Strickler, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Raleigh.
And there will be the danger of flooding, he said.
"If you receive several inches of rain, expect that we will issue a flood watch in the next couple of days," Strickler said.
The area should expect cloudy skies today and residents will wake up Friday to a light rain or drizzle. The rain is indirectly tied to the storm as a coastal front moves into the area in advance of Hurricane Matthew, he said
Conditions will deteriorate Friday night and continue to do so into Saturday night, he said.
Strickler said that confidence has increased in the forecast model over the past two days that the storm will take a sharp turn out to sea instead of striking the state.
There will be a northeast breeze in advance of the storm due to the different pressure gradients.
The chance of rain and breezy conditions will continue through Sunday before skies start to clear Sunday night.
Friday's high is expected to be 77 degrees. Saturday's forecast high is 72 falling to 70 on Sunday. Nighttime lows will be in the low to upper 60s falling to the mid-50s on Sunday.