Tropical storm warnings and watches issued for Carolina coast: Lowcountry warned to stay out of water

Meteorologists are warning boaters and swimmers in the Lowcountry to stay out of the water as a slow-developing system makes its way up the coast Monday.

The disturbance was located about 40 miles south of Charleston as of 5 p.m. Monday with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph.

Even though the disturbance has shown little signs of organization Monday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said there is a 70 percent chance of the system developing into a tropical storm.

If it develops, Tropical Storm Irma would be the 9th named storm of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season.

According to the hurricane center, the system will move over or near the coast of South Carolina Monday evening and move along the North Carolina Outer Banks on Tuesday.

Tropical weather track

Reload page every few hours for the latest tracking information.

 

Source: National Hurricane Center

A tropical storm warning has been issued for the North Carolina coast from Surf City to Duck including the Albermale and Pamlico sounds. A tropical storm watch has been issued for the area South of Surf City, North Carolina to south of the Santee River in South Carolina.

A gale warning has been issued for the coastal waters off the Lowcountry through 11 p.m. Monday evening and a rip current advisory is in effect for Beaufort, Jasper and Chatham counties until 8 p.m. Monday evening.

“No one should enter the water due to life-threatening rip currents,” the National Weather Service advisory states.

The system threatens to dump 1 to 2 inches of rain on Beaufort County on Monday afternoon and evening, while areas north of Charleston could get more than 3 inches. Streets in downtown Charleston were closed Monday afternoon due to flooding.

The National Weather Service advises anyone in the area to keep their eyes on the weather Monday as the storm track and strength could change. The map above will update as long as the hurricane center tracks this system, so reloading this page every few hours will give you updated information.

The system threatens to bring rough surf and heavy rain to the east coast, stretching up to Massachusetts later this week.

Meteorologists are also monitoring a second tropical disturbance approaching the Cabo Verde Islands that has the potential to develop into a tropical storm late this week. The NHC says the disturbance has an 80 percent chance of tropical storm development in the next five days.

This story was originally published August 28, 2017 at 9:44 AM with the headline "Tropical storm warnings and watches issued for Carolina coast: Lowcountry warned to stay out of water."