As work continues to help those that will be immediately impacted by Hurricane Florence, the Tri-Cities could also be in for some inclement weather.

Projections are still in the air and the final result depends on the pathway of the hurricane once it makes landfall, but the National Weather Service of Morristown anticipates Carter County and the surrounding areas could be in store for some heavy rain.

“Over the past 24 to 48 hours, the path has shifted a little bit,” Sam Roberts, NWS – Morristown meteorologist said. “Our latest predictions show Carter County and the area around there could be in line for some heavy rain. All of it does depend on the path the hurricane takes once it makes landfall.”

Current predictions show that on average, Carter County —– along with Washington, Johnson, Unicoi and Sullivan counties — could see on average between three to four inches of rain with some areas seeing anywhere from four to six inches of precipitation.

Roberts said as of Wednesday, the brunt of the storm could hit the area anywhere from Saturday evening to Monday.

“Once the storm makes its way onto land, we’ll be able to narrow that window down,” Roberts said about the projection of the storm hitting the area.

Roberts added another issue the weather service is monitoring is the gusty winds that will accompany the rain.

Projections show residents in the highest elevations could see anywhere between 20 to 30 miles-per-hour winds. While the worst brunt of the wind won’t impact heavily populated areas, Roberts did say a cause for concern will be for the wind mix with the heavily-saturated areas causing trees and other fallen debris to be scattered throughout the lower elevations.

With inclement weather on the horizon, Roberts encouraged the public to plan and take steps to hunker down in case of rough weather.

“This is the perfect time for people to go ahead and start thinking about what they need to in case of an emergency,” Roberts said. “I would encourage people to plan and to stay up to date with the weather forecast so they know what’s going on with the weather.”