Tornadoes and damaging wind gusts are possible in Hampton Roads on Friday as Hurricane Helene, now downgraded to a tropical storm, makes its way north.

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

First Alert Meteorologist Joey Sovine said Helene is now a Category 1 as of 2:30 a.m. Two dozen South Carolina counties, including most of the Lowcountry, are under a tornado watch until 8 a.m. Friday.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado warning for parts of Tazewell, Bland and Mercer Counties. The warning will expire at 8:30 p.m. The NWS says a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado was over Clear Fork or near Bluefield moving north around 7:52 p.