Ian Remnants Could Bring Downpours To MD This Weekend

MARYLAND — The former Hurricane Ian could bring downpours to Maryland this weekend.

The Old Line State, however, will probably avoid severe damage. Still, Ocean City on Thursday canceled a music festival scheduled for this weekend out of an abundance of caution.

Ian hit Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday as a category 4 hurricane. The storm trekked east across the state, losing wind speed as it traveled inland. That weakening force downgraded Ian to a tropical storm as it reentered the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday.

Ian could regain energy as it spins off Florida's Atlantic Coast. That ocean water may rejuvenate the storm and return it to a category 1 hurricane, AccuWeather reported.

Related: Hurricane Ian: 5 Things To Know As Storm Hammers Florida

The National Weather Service expects Ian to make a second landfall near the border of Georgia and South Carolina between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Friday. The storm would lose strength and likely get downgraded again as it heads inland.

The National Hurricane Center projected Ian's eye to cross South Carolina on Friday before traversing the western portion of North Carolina on Friday night into Saturday. Ian could reach the Virginia-West Virginia-Kentucky border by Saturday evening.

That model does not currently forecast Ian's eye, the center of the storm, to pass directly over Maryland. The outer bands of the wide system are still likely to bring heavy rain to the region.

"Overall, the pattern looks to be more of a beneficial rainfall at this time," the National Weather Service Baltimore-Washington station said Thursday morning in a forecast discussion. "But some scattered instances of flooding may be possible, especially Saturday into Sunday for areas along and west of the Blue Ridge Mountains and south of US-50."

Accuweather predicted that Maryland could see a combined 1 to 4 inches of rain through Monday.

"Forecasters are not expecting a widespread inland flooding disaster with Ian," AccuWeather Meteorologist Renee Duff wrote. "But they do caution that residents throughout the region should be mindful of the risk of flash flooding, rising streams and high water covering streets."

Ocean City city is prepared just in case threats arise. The city called off its inaugural Oceans Calling Festival.

The three-day event would have brought acts like Dave Matthews, O.A.R. and Logic to perform on the beach. Planners instead nixed the festival because of "unsafe weather conditions, including high winds, tidal flooding, and heavy rain."

"We are extremely disappointed to cancel Oceans Calling Festival," Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan said in a press release. "We have been working closely with the event promotors since May 2021. Their hard work, and the hard work of our staff, were evident in every detail of the event planning and preparation. Although this is disappointing to all of us, we are already working with C3 Presents to bring Oceans Calling Festival back to Maryland's Coast next year."

For the latest storm updates, visit hurricanes.gov. Read AccuWeather's full story to learn more about Ian's northward trek.

Forecast For BWI Airport

Here is the latest National Weather Service forecast for Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Linthicum:

Thursday Afternoon: Increasing clouds, with a high near 71. Northeast wind around 14 mph, with gusts as high as 26 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. Northeast wind around 9 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Friday: A chance of rain after 2pm. Cloudy, with a high near 68. Northeast wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday Night: Rain, mainly after 2am. The rain could be heavy at times. Low around 55. Northeast wind 14 to 17 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.

Saturday: Rain. The rain could be heavy at times. High near 66. Breezy, with a northeast wind 17 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%.

Saturday Night: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 55. Chance of precipitation is 60%.

Sunday: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 68. Breezy. Chance of precipitation is 70%.

Sunday Night: Scattered showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 52. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Monday: Scattered showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 65. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Monday Night: Scattered showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Tuesday: Scattered showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 66. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 51.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 71.