According to the 5 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center, the center of the storm was located about 50 miles south of Columbia, South Carolina. Elsa was traveling northeast at 18 miles per hour.
WATCH LIVE: Radar shows current location of Elsa
The storm is expected to quickly continue its way up through North Carolina, tracking just west of Interstate 95.
Elsa remains a weak tropical storm with sustained winds at 40 miles per hour.
Elsa is expected to dump between 1-3 inches of rain (with isolated areas getting as much as 6 inches of rainfall) in central North Carolina and bring wind gusts as strong as 50 miles per hour in spots. Elsa also brings with it an isolated tornado threat.
Timeline
Showers began around 5 a.m. in the Sandhills on Thursday. As the day progresses, the rain spreads north across the ABC11 viewing area with the entire region seeing rain and storms by the afternoon.
Peak wind gusts Thursday will happened between 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. south of Wake County. Areas north of Wake County can expect the strongest winds between 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Elsa will move through North Carolina fairly quickly. The majority of the storm will be into Virginia by 9 p.m.
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Friday will be partly cloudy with highs in the low 90s. The weekend looks mostly sunny with that heat remaining in the lower 90s.
North Carolina Preparations
The State Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh activated on Tuesday to monitor the storm.
“Residents and visitors to North Carolina should keep a close watch on the forecast for this storm,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement on Tuesday. “It’s important that everyone be aware and prepared for rains, and it’s also important to avoid driving through floodwaters.”
SEE ALSO: Tropical Storm Elsa kills 1 in Florida, hurts 10 at Georgia base
The state’s emergency response team has reached out to local governments, making sure they have everything they need before Elsa arrives.
State leaders say individuals should also be sure they have everything they need in their emergency kits, including an evacuation plan and essential goods.
WATCH: What you need in your hurricane preparedness kit
Meanwhile, City of Raleigh is using an online system to automatically lower the water level at Johnson Lake.
The system lessens the amount of water flowing out of the dam down stream, leaving more room for the lake to fill up during a storm.
Before the installation of the automatic online system, City of Raleigh officials would have to go to Lake Johnson in person to open the valve.
Johnston County Public Schools announced that its Summer Learning Program would be canceled for students at all sites on Thursday, July 8. Friday, July 16 will serve as a makeup day.
All Durham Public Schools’ Summer programs were also canceled for Thursday.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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