A tornado watch has been issued for Hampton Roads and North Carolina as Hurricane Helene, now downgraded to a tropical storm, makes its way across the southern United States. Tornadoes and damaging wind gusts are possible until 6 p.

The National Weather Service Raleigh has issued a flood watch for several counties across central North Carolina Thursday. A flood watch was issued for Person, Alamance, Orange, Durham, Chatham, Wake,

Outer bands of Hurricane Helene could bring potentially severe weather to northeast North Carolina and Hampton Roads, starting Friday afternoon.

On Friday at 8:05 a.m. the National Weather Service issued a tornado watch in effect until 6 p.m. The watch is for Cabarrus, Mecklenburg and Union counties.

Hurricane Helene slammed into Florida’s Gulf Coast, making landfall late Thursday as a powerful Category 4 storm, bringing with 140 mph winds, torrential rain and a record storm surge before moving inland across Georgia and the Carolinas.