EDENTON – We may be getting some wet weather ahead — and it’s a rainy Monday morning.
That said, I’m not ready to brace for the hard part of Atlantic hurricane season and as always when it comes to weather forecasts, I adopt a “I’ll believe it when I see it approach.” The first storm of the season, Hurricane Erin, may be headed our way — may be something, may be nothing. Fingers crossed.
Like most folks I’ve been through a hurricane or two. September of 1996, I remember watching in amazement as Hurricane Fran’s winds were so powerful that my full can of beer was pushed across the table at the fraternity house at ECU. Tar River was up and a huge tree limb fell in front of me as I walking across campus.
And Hurricane Isabel — September of 2003 — is still talked about in Edenton, a lot of damage.
September of 2019, Hurricane Dorian’s storm surge is marked high above the ground on walls and support posts across Ocracoke in Hyde County. The aftermath — there was trash and appliances piled high alongside NC 12 for many months on the Island; long time to recover.
With the heart of hurricane season approaching, the North Carolina Weather Authority is urging residents to stay informed but not alarmed about a tropical wave currently moving across the Atlantic.
As of Sunday evening, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) is monitoring two systems for possible development. Located in the central Atlantic, the first is expected to fizzle and poses no threat to the United States.
The second system, presently named Invest 97L, may evolve into Hurricane Erin — the first named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season — is a wave that recently moved off the coast of Africa over the Cabo Verde Islands. The NHC gives it a 90% chance of becoming a tropical storm within the next seven days. Several forecast models suggest it could strengthen into a hurricane.
Current projections indicate the system will be guided westward by a ridge of high pressure over the next five to seven days. After that, its track becomes uncertain. Some models show the storm curving out to sea, while others suggest the ridge could push it farther west toward the U.S. East Coast.
“It’s too soon to tell if this system will ever pose a threat to the mainland,” the Weather Authority said. “Most models now keep it offshore, with possible impacts limited to higher surf and rip currents along the North Carolina coast.”
Forecasters stressed that with the system still more than 10 days away and lacking a closed center of circulation, no one can make a confident prediction about its final path. They noted that Atlantic tropical systems typically take several days to cross the basin, leaving plenty of time for changes.
The bottom line, according to the Weather Authority: There is no tropical threat to North Carolina over the next nine days. Residents are encouraged to monitor daily updates, avoid relying on unreliable online “hype” forecasts, and ensure hurricane preparedness plans are in place.
“This is hurricane season,” the Weather Authority reminded. “We should always be ready, regardless of the forecast.”