Videos have begun to circulate on social media on Saturday showing the impact of Tropical Storm Ophelia as it continues to travel up the East Coast, producing heavy flooding and powerful winds.
Ophelia began developing as a cyclone over the Atlantic Ocean earlier in the week, and is now forecast to bring a month’s worth of rain to parts of the Eastern United States. At approximately 6:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, the storm made landfall in North Carolina in the Emerald Isle region. According to early numbers reported by CNN, Ophelia took out power to over 70,000 homes and businesses and caused storm surges of roughly three feet. In response, North Carolina declared a state of emergency, as did Maryland and Virginia.
As the storm made its way across land on Saturday morning, videos began to flood onto social media showing its impact. On X, the platform previously known as Twitter, the outlet WeatherNation shared a video taken in New Bern, North Carolina, where storm surges caused flooding in the streets of a residential area, the result of the nearby Neuse River overflowing.
A similar scene was shared by WXII News anchor DaVonté McKenith, showing a residential area in Belhaven, North Carolina, overtaken by water as storm surges overflowed the Pungo River.
#Ophelia: Here’s intense flooding in Belhaven. The town is in Beaufort County. It’s located on the Pungo River that feeds into Pamlico Sound.
“Storm is getting more intense by the minute and storm surge has began.”
( 📸: Sarah Minton, Elkin) pic.twitter.com/myLWVFJyER
— WXII DaVonté McKenith (@DaVonteMcKenith) September 23, 2023
Another video, shared by X account “Breaking news 24/7,” showed the storm’s arrival earlier in the morning, generating sizeable waves near the coast in Surf City, North Carolina.
Newsweek reached out to weather experts via email for comment.
Eros Hoagland/Getty Images
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Ophelia made landfall on Saturday morning with sustained winds of around 70 miles per hour. Later, at around 11 a.m., sustained winds had weakened to around 50 miles per hour, though experts still cautioned that the storm could cause extensive damage and more power outages as it continued on its path.
Prior to that, on Friday, flooding had already been reported in parts of North Carolina, with the state’s transportation department urging residents to avoid travel if at all possible.
“But please don’t go out tonight unless you absolutely have to,” the department said in a statement on X. “There is sand and water on the roadway, and it’s dark and stormy.”
Ophelia’s current trajectory will see it continue across coastal North Carolina before reaching Virginia. After that, it will continue on over parts of Maryland and Delaware. The further reaches of the storm have also seen rain dumped on parts of New York and New Jersey. By Sunday evening, Ophelia is expected to pass over Southern New Jersey before moving back out over the Atlantic Ocean.