Forecasters watching a Caribbean tropical storm. What does it mean for Hilton Head?
While a fall chill has crept into the Lowcountry air, the Atlantic hurricane season still has some heat left in it.
A tropical wave, the precursor to any tropical cyclone, is quickly moving westward across the Caribbean. The chances of this system strengthening into a tropical depression in the coming days are quite high, though meteorologists with the National Weather Service office in Charleston say they don’t currently expect the system to bring any impacts to the Lowcountry.
If a tropical storm or hurricane forms from this system, its name would be Melissa. As of Monday morning, it has an 80% chance of forming into a tropical depression or storm in the next week.
The tropical wave is currently bringing thunderstorms and showers to the Caribbean. In the coming days, meteorologists with the National Hurricane Center believe that conditions will become right for a tropical depression or storm to form from the system.
This development comes as the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season comes to an end. The busiest period is typically mid-August through mid-October, though hurricane season runs to the end of November.
This story was originally published October 20, 2025 at 12:29 PM.
