Tropical Storm Imelda Intensifies in the Atlantic, Prompting Tropical Storm Alerts for Florida’s East Coast
FOX Weather Meteorologist Ian Oliver and Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross provide the latest forecast on the newly named Tropical Storm Imelda in the Atlantic. Tropical Storm alerts are in place for Florida’s east coast. According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Tropical Depression Nine intensified into Tropical Storm Imelda near the central and northwestern Bahamas on Sunday afternoon and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane off the southeastern U.S. coast early this week.
A tropical storm is a tropical cyclone that has maximum sustained winds between 39 and 73 mph – an upgrade from a tropical depression. Once Tropical Storm Imelda’s winds reach 74 mph or higher, it will be designated as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffirr-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale.
Tropical storm alerts remain in effect for portions of the eastern Florida coastline, and at least two states have declared preemptive states of emergency as Imelda remains on its way to becoming a hurricane, bringing the potential threat of days of flooding rain and strong winds to parts of the Southeast coast.
Forecast and Potential Impacts
While Florida isn’t expecting a landfall from Imelda, the tropical storm is expected to move close enough that it could bring tropical-storm-force winds on Monday. The NHC said Tropical Storm Imelda is currently located about 370 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, and is moving off to the north at 7 mph.
On that track, the NHC said Imelda will move across the central and northwestern Bahamas through Sunday night, then turn east-northeastward and slowly move away from the southeastern U.S. coast by the middle of this week. A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect for the central Bahamas, including Cat Island, the Exumas, Long Island, Rum Cay and Sal Salvador.
States Prepare for Potential Impacts
Aside from the state of emergency in South Carolina, cities and counties were taking localized precautions. The City of Charleston announced a local state of emergency Saturday, clearing storm drains, lowering water levels, prepositioning water pumps and bringing in extra staff.
North Carolina’s Emergency Management department said it is also monitoring the latest weather forecasts. Duke Energy, which services power to 80 counties in North Carolina, said a significant portion of the storm’s possible path is in its service area.
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