Maria expected to have minimal impact on central North Carolina
By News-Argus Staff
Published in News on September 24, 2017 8:22 PM
Full SizeHurricane Maria is expected to have a minimal impact to the central part of North Carolina, but the National Weather Service has issued a tropical storm or hurricane watch for the coast, which began Sunday afternoon.
Impacts to the central part of the state will likely include breezy condition Tuesday into early Thursday with wind gust up to 30 mph east of U.S. 1.
The National Weather Service expects a few showers east of I-95 between Tuesday and Thursday, as well.
Though the tropical-storm-force wind probabilities have increased for the central North Carolina area as Maria moves closer, chances remain low as the hurricane is expected to remain off of the coast of the state.
According to the National Weather Service, rain will mostly be confined to the coastal region as well.
The Hurricane Center says it was centered about 475 miles (765 kilometers) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina before noon Sunday.
Maria, which caused wide-spread destruction in Puerto Rico as a Category 4 hurricane last week, is now a Category 2 storm with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph)
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.