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Tropical Storm Hanna could affect Beaufort County

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Beaufort County could begin feeling the effects of Tropical Storm Hanna this week, though the path of the storm remains uncertain, according to the National Weather Service office in Charleston.

The storm is expected to move slowly through the Bahamas over the next several days before turning north just off the east coast of Florida by midweek, according to the weather service. It's expected to come ashore anywhere from north of Wilmington, N.C., to south of Jacksonville, Fla., according to the forecast.

The National Hurricane Center's update at 11 p.m. Sunday showed the center line of a five-day "forecast cone" for Hanna bringing the storm ashore at the South Carolina-Georgia state line, just south of Hilton Head Island, Daufuskie Island and Beaufort.

Joe Calderone, a meteorologist with the Charleston office of the weather service, said Hanna was forecast to hit as a high-end tropical storm or a minimum-strength hurricane Thursday night or Friday. A Category 1 hurricane has winds of at least 74 mph.

Calderone added that there is still uncertainty about the track of the storm, especially as it meanders near the Bahamas. The storm's maximum sustained winds were 50 mph Sunday night.

Beaufort County residents will see strong onshore winds and higher than normal surf through the week, possibly beginning today. There will be a moderate risk of rip currents and the potential for beach erosion. If all goes as currently forecast, Beaufort County should by Thursday see northeast winds of 17 to 29 mph, with seas of 5 to 9 feet and a chance of thunderstorms. Tropical storm conditions are possible Thursday night or Friday.

As to what, if any, rains Beaufort County could see from the storm, Calderone said it was too early to tell.

Residents of Beaufort County should monitor updates on the storm throughout the week, the service says.

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