Imelda trending in a new direction
Imelda officially forms over the Bahamas.Β
After much anticipation, Tropical Storm Imelda has officially formed over the Bahamas. The storm is expected to become a hurricane by Tuesday a couple of hundred miles east of Florida. Luckily for the WCCB Charlotte viewing area, the model mayhem has calmed down and we have a clearer forecast. Nearly all model guidance now avoids a direct landfall with Imelda, and pulls the storm well out to sea. The change comes as the storm moved slower than expected over the past couple of days. This allowed Major Hurricane Humberto to catch up, and help guide Imelda on a path out into the open Atlantic. While this is good news, I still expect some rain Monday that tries to linger into Tuesday as well. This is thanks to an atmospheric river setup ahead of the storm helping to pull its moisture well north of the actual center of circulation.
We look to stay mostly dry tonight, but don’t be surprised to see a couple of isolated showers this evening, and into the overnight. Rain becomes more widespread Monday as Imelda is as close as she will get to the Carolinas. The clouds, combined with the on and off rain, will keep highs in the low 70s tomorrow in the Piedmont, and upper 60s in the High Country. The rain looks to be light enough and inconsistent enough that flooding is basically no threat to our area. Rain becomes more isolated by Tuesday, but the clouds remain.
Things also look better at the coast. However, we could still see minor coastal flooding from Myrtle Beach towards Wilmington. There is also the threat of a couple of isolated tornadoes in that same area on Monday and Tuesday.
By Wednesday, things drastically improve as high pressure works into our area. This will also help to funnel in a fall air mass with comfortable air and below average temperatures. This looks to hold on into next weekend.
Tonight: Isolated showers. Low: 67Β°. Wind: NE 5
Monday: Scattered showers. Β High 71Β°. Wind: NE 10
Monday Night: Scattered showers. Low: 67Β°. Wind: N 10
Tuesday: Scattered showers. High 74Β°. Wind N 10
