Could Tropical Storm Erika grow into hurricane and hit South Carolina?

Tropical Storm Erika is approaching the Leeward Islands from the Atlantic and is forecast to gain strength.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds early Tuesday were near 45 mph.

Though the exact track of Erika remains uncertain, the storm is forecast to move across the Caribbean, then become a Category 1 hurricane by the weekend as it spins near the Bahamas.

Two of the top computer models meteorologists use to forecast weather show vastly different predictions for Erika, USA Today reported. One shows it dissipating, the other shows it spinning up into a Category 4 monster near the South Carolina coast by next week, the newspaper said.

Tropical storm watches have been issued for portions of the Leeward Islands including Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten. A tropical storm watch means tropical storm conditions are possible within 48 hours.

Erika was centered about 750 miles east of the Leeward Islands Tuesday afternoon moving west near 20 mph.

Erika is the fifth-named tropical system of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season. Only one of the storms, Danny, became a hurricane. Danny dissipated Monday over the islands of the Caribbean, because of an influx of dry air and strong upper-level winds that tore the storm apart.

From Wire Reports