Tropical Storm Isaias grazes Florida, heads up East Coast

MIAMI, (Reuters) - The Florida coast looked set to avoid major damage late yesterday with Tropical Storm Isaias keeping offshore as it rumbles north, although it could strengthen to a hurricane by the time it reaches the Carolinas on Monday packing heavy winds and rain.

By 8 p.m. ET (0000 GMT), Isaias was about 55 miles (90 km) east-southeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, heading north-northwestward with top sustained winds of 70 miles per hour (110 km per hour), the National Hurricane Center said.

After passing the Florida coast overnight, the storm is expected to keep offshore while grazing Georgia and southern South Carolina before heading inland over eastern South Carolina or southern North Carolina on Monday night.

“A turn toward the north and north-northeast along with an increase in forward speed is anticipated on Monday and Tuesday,” said the NHC, which issued a hurricane watch for parts of South and North Carolina.

Storm surges, when a storm pushes tidal levels above normal, of up to 4 feet (1.22 m), and flooding also threatened some of the areas in Isaias’ path, forecasters said.

Isaias, which was downgraded from a hurricane on Saturday, is expected to move upward along the East Coast and reach Washington, Philadelphia and New York City on Tuesday before moving into New England.

The Palm Beach area, where President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort is located, emerged largely unscathed from the storm after it brushed off the coast, with authorities reporting no widespread damage and no flooding.

“We still are experiencing some winds,” Lisa DeLaRionda, a spokeswoman for Palm Beach County, said on Sunday. “However, based on the latest forecast, those winds should be dying down early afternoon.”