Storm could churn waters along SC coast

Tropical Storm Erika pummeled the eastern Caribbean island of Dominica Thursday, unleashing landslides and killing at least four people.

Forecasters said the storm could reach Florida as a hurricane Monday.

By 8 a.m. Tuesday, the storm could be off the Florida coast, south of Jacksonville, but already producing 30-plus mph winds along the S.C. coast, according to the National Weather Service.

Erika was expected to be near or just north of the Dominican Republic Friday as it heads toward Florida early next week, possibly as a hurricane.

Chris Landsea, a meteorologist at the National Hurricane Center, said the storm could dissipate if it passed over Hispaniola, the island that holds Haiti and the Dominican Republic, or Puerto Rico. Or it could gather strength and pose a threat to Florida. “The uncertainties are very high.”

The S.C. Emergency Management Division said Thursday that it was monitoring Erika. Because of the storm’s projected movement up the East Coast, key local and state agencies have been notified to be ready to respond.

S.C. residents and visitors in potentially vulnerable areas should review their plans and consider actions they would need to take if the storm threatens the state, the agency said.

“There’s still a lot of uncertainty in the forecasts,” Emergency Management director Kim Stenson said. “If it looks like this storm is going to affect South Carolina, we want everyone to be ready.”

Staff and wire reports

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 6:55 PM with the headline "Storm could churn waters along SC coast."