Tropical Rains Moving North Into VA; Coastal Flooding Likely

VIRGINIA — An unnamed tropical storm that inundated North Carolina with historic rainfall moved north Tuesday and is expected to bring soggy conditions, coastal flooding and dangerous surf conditions to Virginia and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic in the coming days.

The storm, which Accuweather forecasters said could still produce torrential downpours, hovered over southern Virginia on Tuesday and was slowly moving inland after dropping more than 20 inches of rain on parts of North Carolina.

Wind gusts of nearly 70 mph were also recorded at Wrightsville Beach. Tropical-storm-force winds range from 39-73 mph.

"The only thing that held back the system from becoming an officially named subtropical storm on Monday was the lack of a closed circulation," AccuWeather hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said in a statement. "The open-sided storm produced 50-mph sustained winds, torrential rain, severe thunderstorms that prompted tornado warnings and sustained winds with much higher gusts."

The storm was forecast to lose wind energy as it moved inland on Tuesday. While the worst rainfall and greatest chance for flooding were expected to remain to the south, parts of Virginia are still likely to see showers, storms and soggy conditions starting Tuesday into the weekend.

Coastal flooding is among the greatest concerns due to prolonged onshore winds attached to the system, according to the National Weather Service.

The agency also issued a coastal flood advisory until 10 p.m. Tuesday for the District of Columbia, Arlington County and the City of Alexandria. According to the alert, shorelines in the affected areas could up to a half-foot of flooding in low-lying areas.

A hazardous weather outlook was also issued for the area on Tuesday. In the alert, NWS forecasters said rainfall could bring isolated instances of flooding, especially along and south of Interstate 66.

Exactly how much rain Northern Virginia could see remains uncertain, according to forecasters.

"Unfortunately, the weather models have really struggled with this system, with widely varied rainfall totals. The best chances for rain look to be later today, tonight and perhaps Wednesday," the Capital Weather Gang said in a Tuesday forecast.

The chance for rain also returns late this week into the front end of the weekend, the Capital Weather Gang said.

According to Accuweather forecasters, this tropical rainstorm could also spawn another later this week along the Mid-Atlantic coast. The spinoff system has the best chance of dropping rain into portions of the central Appalachians and southern New England and could also trigger flooding downpours in parts of the mid-Atlantic.

Here's the detailed NWS forecast for Northern Virginia through Friday:

Tuesday: Cloudy, with a high near 77. East wind around 11 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Tuesday Night: Showers likely, mainly between midnight and 3am. Patchy fog between 2am and 3am. Otherwise, cloudy, with a low around 68. Northeast wind 8 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 18 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Wednesday: Showers likely, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm. Patchy fog before noon. Otherwise, cloudy, with a high near 74. Northeast wind around 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Wednesday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. North wind 3 to 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday: A chance of showers, mainly after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. North wind around 6 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Thursday Night: A chance of showers, mainly before 8pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 64. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 82.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 63.