Crews spent Saturday making preparations for an unnamed weather system that is forecast to become Tropical Storm Imelda late Saturday or early Sunday before approaching the coast of South Carolina as a hurricane early next week.
Crews spent Saturday making preparations for an unnamed weather system that is forecast to become Tropical Storm Imelda late Saturday or early Sunday before approaching the coast of South Carolina as a hurricane early next week.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto grew into a strong Category 5 storm in the Atlantic and threatened the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Bermuda.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster urged residents on Saturday afternoon to closely monitor the weather and stay alert as potential bad weather approaches the state.
Also on Saturday, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency in advance of the system that is being identified by the National Hurricane Center in Miami as Tropical Depression Nine. A year ago Saturday, Hurricane Helene devastated parts of South Carolina and North Carolina
Forecasters said the system is on track to become a tropical storm late Saturday or early Sunday. It would be named Imelda. At 5 p.m. EST, the system was located about 105 miles south southwest of the Central Bahamas. It was moving at 5 mph.
“What we learn every time is we never know where they are going to go,” McMaster said during a Saturday afternoon news conference to discuss the storm. “This storm is deadly serious. Not just serious. Deadly serious.”
The storm could bring high winds and heavy rain, which could produce flooding, he said. The state was prepositioning search and rescue crews over the weekend.Hurricane Humberto grows stronger
Meantime, Hurricane Humberto strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane on Saturday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory. The storm was located about 350 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands.
