Winds will become gusty ahead of a line of showers that will move into sections of the sandhills and southern coastal plain through 230 PM. Wind gust 35 to 40 mph may occur for about 5 to 10 minutes ahead of the showers and affect such places as lauriburg...Hamlet...Raeford...Hope Mills... Fayetteville... Harrells... and Clinton.
Forecast for Cumberland
Updated: 12:44 PM EST on February 9, 2010
High wind watch in effect from Wednesday morning through Wednesday evening...
This Afternoon
Rain. Highs in the mid 40s. East winds around 5 mph. Chance of rain near 100 percent.
Mostly cloudy. A chance of rain with areas of drizzle in the evening. Lows in the mid 30s. Southeast winds around 5 mph...increasing to west 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph after midnight. Chance of rain 40 percent.
Wednesday
Mostly sunny and windy. Near steady temperature in the upper 30s. West winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.
The Flood Warning continues for the Cape Fear at Fayetteville. * At 7:00 am Tuesday the stage was 37.9 feet. * Flood stage is 35.0 feet. * Minor flooding is occurring and minor flooding is forecast. * Forecast... the river is near crest and will fall to below flood stage tomorrow afternoon.
The following are the latest observations and 7 am forecast stages for the next several days...
fld observed forecast 7 am location stg stg day time Wed Thu Fri Sat sun
Cape Fear Fayetteville 35 37.9 Tue 07 am 36.1 33.2 29.6 26.6 25.4
To convert the above stage readings to above mean sea level (ft), add the following to the stage:
fayetteville: 20.52
High Wind Watch
Statement as of 4:39 AM EST on February 09, 2010
... High wind watch in effect from Wednesday morning through Wednesday evening...
The National Weather Service in Raleigh has issued a high wind watch... which is in effect from Wednesday morning through Wednesday evening.
Very strong northwest winds will develop across the region on Wednesday... gradually diminishing Wednesday evening and into the overnight hours. Sustained wind speeds will peak during the late morning and afternoon hours... ranging from 25 to 30 mph with damaging wind gusts 40 to 50 mph possible.
Recent widespread precipitation events have resulted in soggy and wet soils across central North Carolina. The combination of weak root support and strong gusty winds could result in significant damage to trees and power lines.
Precautionary/preparedness actions...
A high wind watch means there is the potential for a hazardous high wind event. Continue to monitor the latest forecasts.