Tropical Storm Julia, the tenth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, formed over Georgia last night but is not expected to cause many problems in southeastern North Carolina.
According to Reid Hawkins, science officer at the National Weather Service office in Wilmington, the biggest local impact from the storm will be rain.
“We’re expecting about two inches of rain across New Hanover County, and maybe two to three inches in the southern part of the county, from Tropical Storm Julia,” Hawkins said, saying the precipitation could start Wednesday but would mostly fall on Thursday.
A high pressure system from the Midwest will be keeping the storm from directly hitting us, according to Hawkins.
“We have a cold front coming down and stalling over our area,” Hawkins said. “Tropical Storm Julia is creeping slowly north up to about the South Carolina border, then it will get pushed back by this high pressure system and turn back south.”
Flooding and flash flooding alerts, like the ones currently in effect in parts of Georgia and South Carolina, are not expected. While no strong winds are expected in the area, Hawkins said rough marine conditions are possible and could affect small water craft. There will also be a moderate risk for rip currents.
