Update: The wind advisory has been extended until 8 a.m. Wednesday.
There’s a wind advisory in place until 8 a.m. Wednesday for Rowan and surrounding counties. Forecasters said gusts as high as 40 to 50 miles per hour are expected, along with average winds around 15 to 25 mph.
Alex Vorst is a meteorologist with the Jackson Weather Service. He said the wind is joined by heavy rainfall as upper-level winds approach the earth’s surface.
“It’s kind of tied with that front that’s going to move through as well. So, you have the precipitation associated with the low in the front, then you just have all that wind associated with the upper levels and down, kind of being coupled together to be like, ‘hey, this is going to be windy and rainy’.”
Vorst said while rainfall isn’t a cause for concern, areas of higher elevation are likely to get hit the hardest by severe winds.
“Your open terrain, your ridgetops, just because your wind is elevated wind, so your ridgetops above 1500 feet and your open terrain above 1500 feet is where you can begin to see those more gusty, stronger winds,” said Vorst. “But even at the surface and in the valleys, upwards of more than 40 mile-per-hour wind gusts are still possible.”
Vorst said people should take caution on roadways during the wind advisory, especially if they are driving large, high-profile vehicles like semis and box trucks.
He also said these conditions can lead to falling tree limbs, which have the capability to down power lines, so people should be prepared in case they temporarily lose power.
More information on severe weather advisories, along with regular forecasts and updates, is available on the NWS website at weather.gov.