A rainy weekend for Hilton Head. Here’s what to know about 5 Atlantic tropical systems
After days of reprieve from cloying heat and humidity, local forecasters expect a low-pressure system will move into the area Friday, ending the bliss and making for a wet weekend in Beaufort County.
Johnathan Lamb, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Charleston Office, said the heaviest rainfall from scattered showers and thunderstorms will happen between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. Up to 3 inches of rain are possible in Beaufort County over the weekend. Rain will continue through Sunday.
Because the showers are spread out over a relatively long period of time, Lamb said the service isn’t “too concerned” about flooding.
Cooler temperatures, which are below what is typical for this time of year, will continue.
While five tropical systems were looming in the Atlantic on Thursday morning, Lamb said there were “no imminent threats” to South Carolina’s coast.
The “models are kind of all over the place about what actually develops into anything more substantial,” he said, adding that the service is “keeping an eye on things.”
NHC latest update on the tropics
According to the National Hurricane Center, among the current five tropical systems in the Atlantic, three have between a 10% and 20% chance of formation within the next 48 hours.
Over the next seven days, all of the tropical disturbances have a low chance of formation, the center said, ranging from 10% to 30%.
As of Thursday morning, the center reported the following on the five systems:
Number One: A trough of low pressure is producing widespread showers and thunderstorms across the northwestern Gulf of Mexico and has a 10% chance of formation withing the next 48 hours. Upper-level winds are predicted to become less conducive for development by Friday and Saturday. While development is unlikely, heavy rainfall is expected across portions of the northern Gulf Coast.
Number Two: The system is located a few hundred miles east of North Carolina and has a 20% chance of formation within the next 48 hours. It could have some subtropical characteristics over the next couple of days while it moves north-northeastward, remaining offshore of the northeastern United States. Further subtropical development is not expected once the low moves over cooler water late Saturday.
Number Three: A broad area of low pressure over the eastern tropical Atlantic is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms and has a 10% chance of formation within the next 48 hours. Some slow development of this system is possible over the next few days while it moves northwestward or northward.
Number Four: Shower and thunderstorm activity has increased slightly with a westward-moving tropical wave located over the western Caribbean Sea. The disturbance has a 30% chance of formation within the next seven days. Significant development appears unlikely before it reaches Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula by early Friday. Some development is possible late in the weekend into early next week after it moves over the southwestern Gulf of Mexico.
Number Five: A tropical wave a few hundred miles east of the Leeward Islands is producing limited shower and thunderstorm activity and has a 10% chance of formation over the next seven days. Strong upper-level winds are predicted to limit development of the disturbance over the next few days as it moves at 10 to 15 mph west-northwestward. Early next week, environmental conditions may become more conducive for some slow development while it moves west-northwestward over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean.
