ROCKINGHAM — North Carolina, still reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Florence, is in for another round of tropical weather.
Hurricane Michael is expected to strong winds and more rain as it moves north through the Southeast later this week.
The storm, which was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane early Monday afternoon, was just off the western coast of Cuba at 2 p.m. and is expected to make landfall on the Florida panhandle on Wednesday.
A briefing from the National Weather Service shows sustained winds of up to 50 mph to moving through Eastern North Carolina overnight Wednesday into Thursday.
Forecasters say those winds could result in downed trees, especially those already weakened by Florence, which moved through the Carolinas in mid-September.
There is also a risk of flash flooding and river flooding and the possibility of tornadoes, according to the NWS. Most of the state is expected to see 2-4 inches of rain.
Meteorologists note that Michael is a fast-moving storm, which will lessen the threat of flooding.
The storm is forecast to pass through the Carolinas and Virginia on Thursday and skirt up the Eastern Seaboard on Friday.
