ORLANDO, Fla. — Tropical depression Claudette, the third named storm of the year, is moving toward the east-northeast and should continue to move across the southeast region of the United States with heavy rain and possible flash floods on Sunday, according to the National Hurricane Center.
As of 2 p.m. CDT, the tropical depression was located about 10 miles west-southwest of Atlanta and about 315 miles west of Cape Fear, North Carolina, with maximum sustained winds at 30 miles per hour.
“On the forecast track, the system should cross portions of the southeast U.S. through tonight, move over the coast of North Carolina into the western Atlantic Ocean on Monday, and be located south of Nova Scotia by late Tuesday,” said Daniel Brown, NHC specialist.
A tropical storm warning remains in effect for a portion of the North Carolina coast from Cape Fear to Duck, including Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds.
A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for the coast of South Carolina from South Santee River to Little River Inlet.
Claudette is forecast to become a tropical storm again when it moves across the Carolinas Sunday night or early Monday, based on NHC reports.
Rainfall totals could fall between 3 and 6 inches across portions of Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, northern and central Georgia, and upstate South Carolina through the morning hours, and as high as 8 inches across portions of central and southern Georgia, central and coastal South Carolina into eastern North Carolina through Monday morning, according to the latest NHC advisory.
The NHC warned of flash, urban and small stream flooding as a result of the heavy rainfall and said river flooding could occur as the storm hits areas with elevated rivers. Tropical storm conditions, including high winds, are expected to continue along the coasts in the storm’s path through Sunday, the NHC said.
“Storm total rainfall of 5 to 10 inches with isolated 15 inch amounts was observed in southeast Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, and the western Florida Panhandle.,” NHC forecaster John Cangialosi said.
A few tornadoes are possible Sunday across parts of Georgia and the Carolinas.
Storm surge could reach between 1 and 3 feet in areas from Cape Lookout, North Carolina, to the North Carolina-Virginia border.
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(Staff writers Joe Mario Pedersen, David Harris and Katie Rice contributed to this report.)
