STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — The affects of Tropical Storm Ophelia are already being felt right here on Staten Island, with forecasters anticipating the heavy rain and gusting winds to proceed all the way through the weekend and into early subsequent week.
“It’s going to feel like Seattle out there, pretty wet, windy and cool,” stated AccuWeather meteorologist Joseph Bauer. “It’s going to a blustery couple of days and even into next week.”
The hurricane, which made landfall in North Carolina early Saturday morning, is already impacting a lot of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast areas, together with Staten Island, the place heavy rain is anticipated to proceed off and on in the coming days.
“We’re already seeing quite a few showers, a rainy day out there right now, and it’s not going to be going away over the next few days,” Bauer stated. “Tomorrow could be another time where we get under one of those heavier rain bands and there could be some additional heavy rain tomorrow.”
“Through this weekend we’re looking at Ophelia’s impact being felt across the city,” he added.
AccuWeather’s Rainfall Amount Probability tracker predicts the possibly situation to be two to 4 inches of rain, although there’s a few 25% likelihood that the overall may exceed the ones projections.
“I think when all’s said and done we’re looking at about two to four inches throughout the area,” Bauer stated.
In phrases of temperature, highs are anticipated to stay in the mid-60s, with lows in the prime 50s, although heavy winds and a loss of sunshine will make it really feel 5 to ten levels cooler than it in reality is.
Winds gusts are these days ranging any place from 25 to 35 mph and are anticipated to stay in that vary in the coming days, even as the hurricane strikes up the East Coast and nearer to New York City.
“The storm is going to be losing some wind intensity over the next 36 hours. So while the storm is going to be getting closer to the Staten Island area, it’s going to be a pretty flatlined wind intensity over the next few days,” stated Bauer. “So the storm is going to be getting closer, but it’s also going to be weakening.”
With the National Weather Service issuing a coastal flood observation for Staten Island, which will stay in impact till no less than 5 p.m. on Saturday, Bauer cautioned citizens dwelling in flood-prone spaces alongside the East Shore to be on the glance out for flooding.
“Any areas that are prone, especially out of the East or Northeast that get coastal flooding when the wind is out of that direction, certainly look for it as the storm’s going to slowly meander toward us over the next few days,” he stated.
The rain might linger into Monday morning, however is anticipated to wrap up by way of the finish of the day, with clearer skies and fairly hotter climate anticipated over the remainder of the week.
“As you look out into early next week, there could be some additional rain sticking around for the morning commute on Monday, but the storm’s going to push offshore on Monday, so we’re looking at a little bit of rain in the morning, could slow the morning commute, but the storm and the associated rainfall ending later in the day on Monday,” stated Bauer.