Isaias could be hurricane when it hits Georgia and the Carolinas. Here’s the forecast
Tropical Storm Isaias is expected to become a hurricane by Friday night but won’t hit Georgia and the Carolinas until sometime Monday, according to the latest forecast.
The National Hurricane Center forecasts the storm will strengthen into a hurricane near the Bahamas before reaching the southeast coast of Florida on Sunday, where a tropical storm watch has been issued.
The storm was about 155 miles off the coast of the Dominican Republic at 5 p.m. Thursday.
“Hurricane conditions and dangerous storm surge are expected in portions of the central and northwest Bahamas late Friday and Saturday,” forecasters said. “Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion.”
Isaias could hit the Georgia coast as early as 8 a.m. Sunday, moving to South Carolina by 8 p.m. and North Carolina by 8 a.m. Monday, according to the hurricane center. The forecast cone also shows the storm arriving off the North and South Carolina coastlines closer to 2 p.m. Monday.
It was moving northwest at 20 mph on Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 60 mph.
The S.C. Climate Office forecast earlier Thursday the storm would pass about “80 miles off the South Carolina coast,” McClatchy news reported.
“Isaias’ strongest winds remain off the S.C. coast east of the forecast track,” the climate office said. “It is entirely possible that Isaias become a hurricane late Monday before making landfall along the Outer Banks.”
The National Weather Service office at Morehead City, N.C., warned Thursday of of possible surf and rip currents along the coastal beaches where vacationers are staying.
“Track and intensity forecast and impacts beyond rip current risk remain uncertain as the system is still organizing and expected to pass over Hispaniola,” the weather service said.
This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 6:37 PM with the headline "Isaias could be hurricane when it hits Georgia and the Carolinas. Here’s the forecast."
