Hurricane Isaias aims for South Carolina as a Category 1 storm. Here’s the latest
Hurricane Isaias is expected to lash South Carolina with rain, wind and rough surf as it makes its way up the East Coast.
Isaias was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane overnight Thursday but is expected to drop back down to a tropical storm by the time it leaves the Florida coastline and makes its way north, according to the National Hurricane Center’s forecast cone.
It could bring tropical storm-force winds to South Carolina as early as Sunday night, according to the forecast. The storm was “getting better organized” as of Friday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center said.
“Isaias will produce heavy rains and potentially life-threatening flash and urban flooding, especially in low-lying and poorly drained areas across south to east central Florida, and across the Carolinas to the mid-Atlantic,” the National Hurricane Center said Friday evening. “Isolated minor river flooding is possible across the eastern Carolinas and into Virginia early next week.”
Gov. Henry McMaster warned residents to prepare for the storm’s arrival next week but stopped short of issuing an evacuation order on Friday for coastal areas.
“We’ve been watching Hurricane Isaias very closely over the past few days,” Kim Stenson, director of the state’s emergency management agency, said earlier in the day. “There is still a lot of uncertainty in the forecast. It will be important for everyone to review their hurricane plans now and pay close attention to the forecasts over the weekend.’
Along the East Coast, there are threats of wind, heavy rain and storm surge, the National Hurricane Center said.
The National Weather Service on Friday warned of conditions this weekend near Charleston. Flooding, high surf and “dangerous rip currents” were among the potential perils that could be heading for South Carolina.
The northeastern part of the state could see more than 4 inches of rain near the coast, with lower amounts expected inland, forecasters said late Friday morning.
On Friday evening, Isaias packed 75 mph sustained winds and was forecast to bring dangerous storm surge as it moved a few hundred miles southeast of Nassau, the capital of the Bahamas. It was making its way northwest at 15 mph with hurricane-force winds extending 35 miles.
”Some strengthening is possible today and tonight, and Isaias is expected to remain a hurricane for the next few days,” forecasters said Friday.
The hurricane is expected to move toward the Atlantic coast of Florida as early as Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Forecasters initially thought Isaias would become a Category 2 hurricane (sustained winds of 96-110 mph) but now expect it to weaken below hurricane strength as it leaves the Florida peninsula, strengthening some “before passing over eastern North Carolina on day 4.”
While some models put the storm “uncomfortably close” to South Carolina’s shores, the National Hurricane Center has chosen a model with a predicted landfall Monday near Morehead City, North Carolina, according to an 8:30 a.m. update Friday from the S.C. State Climate Office.
“Based on the latest track tropical storm force winds stay off the beach and the highest winds forecast are 20-25 mph gusting to 35,” Monday near Myrtle Beach, with less intense winds to the southwest, the office warned.
The S.C. Emergency Management Division on Friday urged people to start preparing for potential impacts from the storm. Coastal residents are encouraged to find out their evacuation zones at scemd.org/prepare/know-your-zone/.
“We want to remind citizens that due to social distancing guidelines, shelter space will be very limited, so again we encourage everyone to make their plans early this year,” Jason Patno, emergency management director of Charleston County, wrote Thursday.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 8:12 AM.
