Governor Roy Cooper speaking about Tropical Storm Ian Thursday afternoon

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — After issuing a State of Emergency on Wednesday for North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper is set to speak Thursday afternoon about the approach of Tropical Storm Ian.

Ian made landfall Wednesday afternoon in Florida as a powerful category 4 hurricane, with winds of 150 mph.

Thankfully the storm has rapidly weakened, but Ian is still expected to be a strong Tropical System when it makes landfall again on Friday somewhere along the South Carolina coast.

Although Ian isn’t forecast to make a direct landfall in North Carolina, the impacts of the storm will be widely felt across the state.

Up to half a foot of rain is expected to soak the Cape Fear, with gusty winds up to 45 mph and an isolated tornado risk on Friday.

Governor Roy Cooper is scheduled to speak around 3:00 pm Thursday afternoon from Raleigh.

You can watch the Governor’s remarks on our livestream HERE.