Tropical Storm Chantal to bring local impacts Sunday 

The Carolinas are first on the dock for the 2025 Atlantic Hurricane Season as Tropical Storm Chantal churns towards the Myrtle Beach area. Chantal is currently a weak tropical storm with winds of 45 mph. With that said, the storm is expected to gradually strengthen to a mid-grade tropical storm with sustained winds of 50 mph when it makes landfall near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina early Sunday morning. Tropical storm warnings are up for the coast from South Island, South Carolina to Surf City, North Carolina. Impacts from the storm will vary greatly depending on the exact track Chantal takes.

THE COAST: If you have interests in the Carolina coast, you will want to monitor Chantal. Tropical storm conditions will be confined to the center of the storm where winds will gust past 50 mph on the beaches where the storm comes ashore. Heavy rain will be the main threat from Chantal as the center of the storm will easily drop 3-6+ inches of rain along portions of the coast. Chantal will also bring the potential for some light surge in the range of 1–3 feet to the northeast of the storm’s center. There will also be an isolated tornado threat present in the northeast quadrant of the storm. The worst of the impacts look to be from Pawleys Island, South Carolina up the coast to Wilmington, North Carolina.

LOCAL IMPACTS: After making landfall, Chantal will pull north into the Pee Dee and Sandhills. Let’s start with the good news for our area. Chantal is quite lopsided towards the east due to wind shear. That, combined with the fact the center of the storm will be east of the metro, is a recipe we will be free from any tornado or strong wind threat.* WITH THAT SAID* I do expect a corridor of heavy rain with some flooding potential over portions of the WCCB Charlotte viewing area. Right now, it looks to set up over the far southeastern section of the area, including Anson, Richmond, and Chesterfield Counties. Rainfall totals in these counties look to be in the range of 2–4 inches. The tricky portion of the forecast here is the cutoff between little to no rain and an isolated flooding concern. If the storm shifts even slightly west, more people will be brought into the fold of heavy rain on Sunday afternoon. It’s a safe bet to assume areas west of I-77 will see little to no impact from this storm system. Areas along I-77 have an increased chance of rain tomorrow. If you live a county or more east of I-77, you’ll have to watch for heavy rain Sunday afternoon and evening with an isolated flash flooding threat. The entire area will be clear of any rain by Sunday night!

Chantal won’t stick around long, and we will be back to the typical hot summer days with scattered afternoon storms by the start of the new week!

Tonight: Partly cloudy. Low: 70°. Wind: NE 5-10.

Sunday: Scattered showers. High 84°. Wind: NE 10-15

Sunday Night: Drying out and Mostly Cloudy. Low: 72°. Wind: NE 5-10

Monday: Isolated afternoon/evening storm. High 94°. Wind calm