North Carolina eyes 2 possible tropical storms
Forecast could hurt tourism on holiday weekend
RODANTHE, N.C. — Business owners, beachgoers, and boat captains on North Carolina’s Outer Banks were warily watching tropical weather Monday that could rain out one of the last busy weeks of the summer.
The first system was expected to become a tropical storm before brushing the North Carolina coast Tuesday, bringing heavy rain and high winds to barrier islands popular for serene beaches. Another tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico could hit northern Florida as a tropical storm later in the week and then move up the Atlantic coast toward North Carolina, though its exact path was uncertain days in advance.
Coastal Dare County in North Carolina could face winds of up to 45 mph with higher gusts and heavy rain that could flood low-lying areas through Wednesday, according to an emergency management news release. To the south, Carteret County officials also warned of flooding and advised residents to monitor forecasts.
A tropical storm watch was in effect for areas of the coast from Cape Lookout to the Oregon Inlet along the Outer Banks.
“I would advise everybody to take a look at the weather,” Dare County emergency management director Drew Pearson said when asked whether visitors should keep their travel plans. “They need to make those decisions based on what they see in the weather forecast.”
As of 2 p.m. Monday, the first depression was located about 160 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras with top sustained winds of 35 mph and moving to the northwest. It was expected to become a tropical storm by Tuesday but not grow stronger than that, said National Weather Service meteorologist Shane Kearns in eastern North Carolina.
The second depression was about 170 miles southwest of Key West, Fla., with maximum winds of 35 mph. Authorities at some locations in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area of Florida were hauling out sandbags Monday amid predictions of heavy rains
In the central Pacific, Hurricane Madeline continued to strengthen Monday about 695 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii, while moving west-northwest at 10 mph. Top sustained winds were 100 mph and forecasters urged the Hawaiian Islands to monitor the storm’s progress though no coastal watches or warnings were in effect.
Elsewhere in the Pacific, Hurricane Lester also was strengthening Monday with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph while churning west at 15 mph some 1,290 miles west of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. Forecasters say it posed no immediate threat to land.