Tropical Storm — Chowan, North Carolina

2023-09-23 · Chowan, North Carolina

Event narrative

Tropical Storm Ophelia tracked northward across east central North Carolina and up through central Virginia from early Saturday morning, September 23 into early Sunday morning, September 24. The combination of high pressure to the north and Ophelia resulted in strong northeast, east and then southeast winds. The Edenton Airport ASOS measured a peak gust of 34 knots (39 miles per hour) at 9:50 AM EST on September 23. However, a mesonet at Heritage Point Drive measured tropical storm force winds of 34 to 38 knots between 11 AM and 3:30 PM EST on September 23.

Wider weather episode

Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall in Emerald Island, NC (in the southeast part of the state) at 6:20 AM on Saturday, 9/23 as a tropical storm with 70 mph winds. Ophelia gradually weakened (and lost tropical characteristics) as it tracked northward toward the Wakefield CWA during the day on Saturday. Ophelia tracked northward roughly along the I-95 corridor during the afternoon and evening hours on Saturday, reaching the Richmond Metro Area while weakening to a depression. Ophelia became an post-tropical cyclone shortly thereafter and exited to the north/northeast on Sunday. Northeast winds gusted as high as 50-65 mph near the VA/NC coast well in advance of Ophelia Friday evening into early Saturday morning (due to a tight gradient between high pressure over New England and the tropical storm to the south), with 25-45 mph gusts farther inland. Winds turned to the SE near the coast on Saturday and a few gusts to 40-45 mph were observed (while winds remained northeast inland west of the low track).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1143170. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.