Ophelia brings more rain and flood risk to US East Coast

25/9/2023 11:33

        Ophelia, downgraded to a post-tropical cyclone, brought more rain and wind as it moved along the Atlantic Coast of the United States, forecasters said on Sunday.
        
        The weather system came ashore near Emerald Isle, North Carolina on Saturday where it doused the region with torrential downpours and unrelenting winds that caused flooding and widespread power outages.
        
        Ophelia was expected to gradually weaken as it churned north-northeast, but heavy rainfall still threatened to cause flooding across a vast area of the Mid-Atlantic into southern New England, the National Hurricane Center (NOAA) said in its last advisory on the storm.
        
        Between one and three inches of rain could fall in areas impacted by Ophelia, and forecasters warned that life-threatening surf and rip currents would impact much of the East Coast throughout the weekend. In New Jersey, thousands of customers were without power as of Sunday morning and some localities received at least 4 inches of rain, local media reported.