A weather system that is forecast to become Tropical Storm Imelda later on Sunday before approaching the coast of South Carolina as a hurricane in the coming days was causing disruption in the Bahamas and nearby islands.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto weakened very slightly but remained a strong category 4 storm in the Atlantic, threatening Bermuda.
South Carolina’s governor, Henry McMaster, urged people to monitor the weather closely and stay alert. And in North Carolina, governor Josh Stein declared a state of emergency in advance of the system, currently called Tropical Depression Nine.
Forecasters said the system was on track to become a tropical storm later on Sunday and a hurricane by late Monday or Tuesday. It would be named Imelda.
At about 8am ET, the storm was located about 285 miles (460km) north-west of the eastern tip of Cuba and about 100 miles west-southwest of the Central Bahamas. It was headed north-northwest at 7 mph (11 km/h). Its maximum sustained winds were 35 mph.
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.
Humberto had maximum sustained winds of 155 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, making it a category 4 hurricane. It was located about 585 miles south of Bermuda and was moving west-northwest at 13 mph.
A tropical storm watch could be required in Bermuda later in the day, forecasters said, and swells could reach the US east coast on Monday.
Tropical Depression Nine was threatening parts of Cuba and the Bahamas with heavy rainfall and flash flooding, with portions of the latter under a tropical storm warning. More warnings and watches were expected later on Sunday, the hurricane center said.
The tropical disturbance brought heavy rains to the Dominican Republic on Friday, leading authorities to evacuate hundreds of people and declare a red alert in five provinces.
Swells generated by Tropical Storm Narda, formerly a hurricane, are affecting coastal Mexico and Baja California Sur, forecasters said, and life-threatening surf and rip current conditions are possible in southern California.
