First weather warning day on Friday: Isolated tornadoes possible

RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – Tomorrow (Friday) is a First Alert Weather Day due to the possibility of isolated tornadoes.

We are closely monitoring Hurricane Helene as it strengthens in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the 5 a.m. Thursday update, Helene is a Category 1 hurricane with winds of 90 mph. The National Hurricane Center expects Helene to strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane before making landfall later this evening/tonight.

Landfall is expected this evening on the Big Bend coast, causing significant impacts across parts of Florida and Georgia. Life-threatening storm surges, flooding, hurricane-force winds and tornadoes are possible. Flooding is also expected in western parts of the Carolinas.

We expect the remnants of Helene to reach central Virginia as early as Friday morning with a few scattered showers. Isolated tropical downpours will arrive in the afternoon and continue into the evening.

The Storm Prediction Center is rating our areas south of I-64 as marginal. This is a level 1 out of 5 severe weather threat. Although the threat is at its lowest, we are monitoring it closely. Isolated tornadoes will be our biggest concern.

The main danger of this severe threat begins during the midday period and lasts until the early evening.

The winds still visible with the remnants of Helene don’t seem to pose much of a threat in our area. Gusts up to 25 mph are possible. The rain should ease off Friday evening. Saturday looks mostly dry! However, very warm and humid.

We will be closely monitoring this system over the next few days and will keep you updated online and on TV throughout the day!

Weather app

Download the First Alert Weather app for even more weather information, including multiple video updates throughout the day.

You can find the app in the Apple Store and on Google Play.

You can also track the storm 24/7 on the First Alert Weather Stream.

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