Tropical Storm Ophelia moves through NYC area with heavy rain and wind through weekend

Heavy rain and winds are hitting the tri-state area just in time for the weekend.

Clouds and winds from Tropical Storm Ophelia are moving through and the biggest impacts Saturday and Sunday are expected along the coast. Rain will continue to come in waves throughout the day and night, stretching into Sunday.

Tropical Storm Ophelia made landfall in North Carolina as a tropical storm early Saturday, and will be moving into New Jersey as a tropical depression through the weekend. The Jersey Shore is expected to see the worst of it, with wind gusts to 60 mph and 3-5 inches of rain possible.

However, the entire area will see a variety of tropical storm-like effects throughout the weekend, including showers that will linger into early Monday morning. New York City and areas to the north and west will see a bit less rain, between 1-3 inches, along with gusty winds (though they are not expected to be damaging).

The storm strengthened to a tropical storm Friday afternoon when the National Hurricane Center reported tropical storm force winds near 60 miles per hour. Winds were around 65 mph when it made landfall, and it will weaken as it moves up the coast — though gusts around that level will be possible along the shoreline.

Coast flood advisories and warnings are up from southern Queens, Nassau, Fairfield, and Westchester, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties, while high surf advisories were issued for south shores of Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. A small craft advisory is in place off the coasts of Long Island and New Jersey.

Coastal areas can expect heavy rain, wind gusts and even possible outages from the storm impact.

There will be heavy rain at times, but there will be lulls and breaks — it won't be raining the entire time all weekend. But just because the rain stops for a bit, don't think that your area is in the clear yet. There's the chance for some thunder as well.

Flash flooding and flooding are possible, if not one of the main threats for the tri-state. Additionally, minor to moderate coastal flooding, beach erosion, and dangerous rip currents are likely, with Saturday afternoon being peak time for coastal flooding. Typical flooding zones, like in Manasquan, will see high water over roads.

Meanwhile, area-wide wind gusts of 25 to 30 mph are likely, with 50 to 60 mph winds possible for the Jersey Shore.

As a tropical storm system moves up the East Coast, the town of Hempstead, Long Island, already announced it was taking precautions. The Hempstead Town Supervisor Don Clavin announced Friday the mobilization of the town’s Storm Response Team for the weekend’s threat of severe weather, including heavy rain, high winds and possible coastal flooding. The town’s STR is prepared to clear storm drains and remove downed trees if needed.

A number of weekend events have already been canceled or postponed including:

• Bergen County Harvest Festival - Saturday's event canceled
• John Coltrane Jazz Festival in Harlem - canceled
• Weehawken Day - canceled
• Yonkers Riverfest - postponed
• Broadway Forever - postponed

Spotty power outages are also possible as trees have all their leaves adding weight to limbs, and winds will be consistent and persistent for many hours. As of 8 a.m., there were about 1,000 customers without power along the Jersey Shore in Ocean County.

There are no tropical storm watches or warnings for our area but some have been issues off the coast of the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic.

However, cooler, drier weather takes over next week.

STORM TEAM 4: Get the latest forecast from Storm Team 4 and track the storm with our interactive radar at https://www.nbcnewyork.com/weather/