First Alert Weather Days: Heaviest rain, highest wind gusts expected Friday into Saturday

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A First Alert Weather Day has been issued for Friday and Saturday, as we expect the heaviest rain and highest wind gusts across the WBTV viewing area. Localized flooding and wind gusts over 35 mph are possible. Rain chances linger Sunday into early next week.

• Mornings: Upper 40s for the piedmont; upper 30s for mountains.
• Afternoon Highs: Near 70 for the piedmont; around 60 degrees for mountains.
• First Alert: Local impacts from Ian expected Friday through Sunday.

Thursday will feature mostly cloudy skies, with afternoon high temperatures around 70 degrees for the piedmont, and around 60 degrees for the mountains.

A First Alert Weather Day has been issued for Friday through Saturday, with a First Alert for Sunday.

Multiple rounds of heavy rain are possible Friday into Sunday, which could cause localized flooding issues, as 3-6 inches of rainfall will be possible.

Gusty winds of 35 mph or higher are likely, as the remnants of Hurricane Ian, is expected to move closer to the Carolinas on Saturday, and linger into Sunday.

High temperatures will be in the lower 60s for Friday, upper 60s for Saturday, and around 70 degrees for Sunday. The mountains will be even cooler, with weekend high temperatures in the mid to upper 50s.

Hurricane Ian Update:

As of Wednesday evening, Hurricane Ian is a category 4 hurricane with winds of 130 mph, and a movement to the north-northeast at 8 mph. Ian is expected to remain a hurricane tonight into early Thursday morning, as the center of circulation is expected to pass over Orlando, Fla.

Ian is expected to move back over the Atlantic and be south of Savannah, Ga. by Friday morning, with the outer rain bands beginning to move into the Carolinas. By Friday evening, Ian will pass near or to the west of Charleston, S.C., and move over Columbia, S.C. by Friday night, with heavy rain bands continuing to move across the WBTV viewing area.

The center of Ian is forecast to move near or over the Charlotte-Metro area by Saturday morning, and then linger over the WBTV viewing area through the day Saturday, and into Sunday. Rain will be heaviest from late Friday into Saturday, with scattered rain for Sunday in the WBTV viewing area.

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Make sure you stay updated with the latest track on Hurricane Ian!

- Meteorologist Jason Myers

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