Tropical Storm Chantal drenches Carolinas, closes I-95
The third named storm of the year, Chantal came ashore near Litchfield, S.C., about 3 a.m. before being downgraded. The National Weather Service said the center of the storm was hard to determine as it began to diffuse after arriving onshore.
Winds peaked at 60 mph before coming ashore, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm had moved inland about 80 miles west of Wilmington, N.C., moving north at about 9 mph. Its sustained winds, however, had fallen off to about 35 mph.
Flash flooding remained a concern and prompted local areas to take precautions as forecasters predicted that as much as four inches of rain could drench the region into the day Monday.
"1-3 inches of rain has already fallen in isolated locations across Eastern NC," the Newport/Morehead City office of the NWS said in a social media post. "Expect 1-1.5 additional inches through Monday, with locally higher amounts of 3+ possible. This could lead to localized flash flooding."
Heavy rain forced the closure of some lanes of Interstate 95 as it moved inland, forcing travelers to take alternate routes to reach their destinations.
The storm prompted isolated tornado threats, but the storm was not expected to threaten North Carolina's popular Outer Banks area. The risk is, however, high for a dangerous rip current across eastern North Carolina through Sunday night.
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