TROPICAL STORM IAN TO HAVE IMPACT ON EAST TN THIS WEEKEND
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Hurricane Ian made landfall Wednesday afternoon near Cayo Costa, Florida as a powerful Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 150 mph.
As of Thursday morning, Ian has been downgraded to a Tropical Storm and is expected to re-emerge over the Atlantic Ocean later today. By Friday Ian is expected to begin pushing further West and moisture from the remnants of Ian will impact East Tennessee and Southeast Kentucky beginning late Friday.
Ian is going to be much weaker when its remnants approach East Tennessee, but it is still expected to bring widespread rain, especially Friday night and Saturday.
Clouds thicken up Friday with a slim chance for a shower Friday afternoon. By Friday night rain chances increase to 60% with some heavy downpours possible. Our rain chance stays elevated Saturday as well with the best chance for widespread rain early.
Flooding is not expected for most of East Tennessee and Southeast Kentucky this weekend as we have been mainly dry the past few weeks. Higher rainfall totals are expected near the Tri-Cities and over parts of Western North Carolina. Winds may be gusty at times over the Smokies at 25 to 35 mph.
Downsloping from the Smokies will help to keep rainfall totals slightly lower in our area while portions of Western North Carolina see the heaviest rain.
