Here’s how Hurricane Dorian will affect the Charlotte area

Hurricane Dorian’s expected impact on the Charlotte area has diminished, the National Weather Service says, with gusty winds but no more than 1 inch of rain south and east of the city on Thursday.

Winds should be highest roughly along and east of the Interstate 77 corridor, with sustained winds expected to be 15 to 25 mph with gusts reaching about 35 mph, the service said in a forecast posted at 10:27 a.m. Tuesday.

Both rain and wind will begin to slow Thursday afternoon, the forecast said, with dry conditions with light wind returning after midnight Thursday.

For Charlotte specifically, the weather service expects a 30% chance of showers Thursday afternoon under cloudy skies and a high of about 80 degrees. Winds will blow at 9 to 17 mph with gusts to 25 mph. Sunny skies and warmer temperatures are expected to return Friday.

If Dorian follows its expected track skimming the southeastern coast from late Wednesday through Friday morning, little to no impact is expected in the western Carolinas, the service said Tuesday morning. Dry and warm conditions are expected for the region through much of the week.

A map of wind speed probabilities shows Charlotte with a 20% to 30% chance of tropical storm-force winds, of 39 mph or higher, this week. Rainfall projections show no rain from the hurricane in Charlotte.

Charlotte-based Duke Energy says it has moved 4,000 field workers from 23 states and Canada into the Carolinas to respond to storm damage. That is in addition to about 5,000 line and tree workers who are based in the two states.

This story was originally published September 3, 2019 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Here’s how Hurricane Dorian will affect the Charlotte area."