RALEIGH, N.C. _ Tropical Storm Isaias regained hurricane strength Monday evening as it approached the coast of the Carolinas, with landfall expected late Monday night somewhere between Myrtle Beach and Wilmington.
The Category 1 hurricane will move north-northeastward up the Interstate 95 corridor through central North Carolina late Monday and early Tuesday, bringing heavy rainfall and potentially damaging wind.
The National Weather Service said in an 8 p.m. update Monday that the area is also in a "tornado threat period," with tornado watches already in effect in southeastern North Carolina counties.
Minor to moderate flooding is expected from the storm, said the NWS.
The National Weather Service has issued a hurricane warning for the coast from South Santee River in South Carolina to Surf City in North Carolina.
As of 8 p.m., the storm was moving north-northeast at 16 miles per hour with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
The top winds from Isaias will be found on the east side of the storm near the coast, in Wilmington, Elizabethtown, Jacksonville, New Bern and Plymouth, according to the latest forecast from the National Weather Service. The weather service has issued a "storm surge warning" for parts of Pamlico and Albemarle sounds, including the Neuse and Pamlico rivers, and for the Outer Banks from Oregon Inlet to Virginia.
But the heaviest rain will fall farther west, along and east of Interstate 95, where 4 to 6 inches are likely. New Bern is expected to receive half as much rain as Raleigh, and the Outer Banks may see less than an inch, according to the weather service.
The combination of gusty winds and soaking rains will inundate roads and bring down trees, making travel difficult and resulting in power outages, state officials warn.
"And remember, never drive through flooded roads," North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said during a news briefing Monday afternoon. "As little as 18 inches can sweep a car away. We've lost too many lives after these storms because of people trying to drive through water."
The first outer bands of rain from Isaias reached the Triangle late Monday morning, but the heaviest amounts will fall overnight. The weather service says Wake County could receive 3 to 5 inches of rain before the storm moves north into Virginia on Tuesday morning.
Much of eastern North Carolina is under a tropical storm warning, including Wake, Franklin and Harnett counties.
The weather service also issued a flash flood watch for a broader area of eastern and central North Carolina, including Chatham, Durham and Orange counties, from 2 p.m. Monday to 2 p.m. Tuesday. Rain from Isaias could flood low-lying and poorly drained areas and cause creeks and streams to rise quickly, according to the weather service.
And as that water runs off, forecasters say they expect the Neuse River to reach moderate flood levels at Clayton and Smithfield by Wednesday afternoon.
After passing over the Bahamas over the weekend, Isaias weakened to a tropical storm and was not expected to recover its previous strength. But with Isaias remaining off the coast of Florida and Georgia on Monday, forecasters now think some strengthening is likely.
Forecasters say sustained winds of 40 mph to 60 mph are likely in the Wilmington area, with gusts to 75 mph.
Four counties _ Brunswick, Duplin, Jones and Scotland _ have opened storm shelters, according to the state Department of Emergency Management, and others are expected to open. To find an open shelter, state officials say people should check their county website, call 211 or go to readync.org.
State officials have urged people to heed local evacuation orders but to stay with friends or relatives or in a hotel if possible. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, space in storm shelters will be limited and people will be screened for coronavirus symptoms at the door.
Cooper said the state is ready for Isaias but urged people to keep the pandemic in mind as they help friends and neighbors.
"Our state has weathered more than our fair share of storms in recent years. We know how to plan, prepare and respond when it's over," Cooper said. "Nothing about that has changed. But this time, we'll have to do it with a mask on."
As the storm drew near and clouds darkened overhead on Monday, Wilmington moved into get-ready mode, starting familiar rituals.
Near the Cape Fear River, Mike Bledsoe Jr. led a three-man crew selling homemade sandbags for $4 each to passing cars full of people nervous about flooding. One man stood atop a 10-foot pile of sand, shoveling loads down a chute pulled from a concrete truck, where it fell into bags Bledsoe hung from a pair of nails.
But most of Wilmington paid no mind, distracted by the pandemic and the Monday routine.
"Most times we overprepare," Bledsoe said. "This time I worry we might not take it serious."
At the Ocean Crest Pier in Oak Island, where an American flag ripped in half by Hurricane Matthew hangs framed in the bait shop, anglers paid $1 apiece to fish in the storm surf, avoiding the surfers as they cast lines into the 4-foot waves.
Behind the counter, manager Lynn Small said few would bother boarding up windows over a Category 1 storm, though the town might shut down the bridge when winds top 50 mph. Small noted that high tide comes under a full moon around midnight, just the time Isaias is expected to hit.
"We'll get some surf," he said. "It'll be up over the dunes," gesturing into the parking lot he expected the ocean to fill.
Meanwhile, in the Carteret County community of Otway, east of Beaufort, the crew at Downeast Marine worked through the morning pulling boats from the outdoor lot, where they might get blown around and damaged by high winds, into a three-bay garage. Lee Nelson lifted each trailer with a tractor and slid them in with surgical precision, as close as knives in a drawer.
"I'm 51 years old, and I've lived here all my life," Nelson said. "This is nothing new to me."
Isaias is not expected to be as bad as some storms in Carteret County, and many took no precautions.
But Nelson was taking no chances; his family home was destroyed by Core Sound flooding from Hurricane Florence in 2018, and they're still living in a camper while their new home is under construction. When he finished up at the shop, he said, he planned to go move the camper to higher ground.
On the front of the shop, the crew had begun nailing plywood coverings over the windows and door. Previous hurricane names _ bad memories, all _ remained in spray paint: Irene. Florence. Dorian.
John and Mary Phillips in Beaufort were using Isaias to try out a new storm-shutter system they bought for their house after Hurricane Dorian last September. The custom system involves panels that fit over the dozens of windows on the two-story 1910 home on Marsh Street. The panels fasten to permanent bolts surrounding the openings.
The couple said they had spent more than seven hours sorting the pieces and installing them, and the exercise showed them they could speed up the process by organizing all the parts as they put them away.
"With everything else that's happened in 2020, this doesn't feel like that big a deal," Mary Phillips said as the couple rocked in chairs on the front porch.
