Tropical storm Ophelia approaches North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, U.S. in this image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) GOES-East weather satellite, September 22, 2023.
In Virginia, Governor Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency in anticipation of the storm, dubbed Ophelia, which is expected to hit the state on Friday evening.
Tropical storm warnings are in effect for much of the area, along with storm surge warnings, the National Weather Service said.
Late Friday, the agency also issued a hurricane watch for parts of Eastern North Carolina, saying that Air Force Reserve hurricane hunters had found that Ophelia had strengthened.
In addition to life-threatening storm surges along the coast, Ophelia could spur flooding from North Carolina to New Jersey through Sunday, the National Weather Service said.
Persons:
Glenn Youngkin, Ophelia, Youngkin, Sharon Bernstein, Josie Kao, Timothy Gardner
Organizations:
National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, Handout REUTERS, National Weather Service, Air Force Reserve, Air Force, Thomson
Locations:
North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, U.S, Delaware, Chesapeake, Potomac, Eastern North Carolina, New Jersey