Tropical Storm Danny formed Monday afternoon off the U.S. East Coast and is predicted to make landfall over South Carolina on Monday evening, the National Hurricane Center said.
As of 5 p.m. Eastern time, Danny had strengthened with sustained winds of 45 mph, was located about 35 miles east of Beaufourt, South Carolina, and 35 miles south-southwest of Charleston, North Carolina, moving west-northwest at 16 mph. Tropical-storm-force winds extend out 35 miles, the NHC said.
The NHC issued a tropical storm warning from Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to South Santee River, South Carolina.
“Data from NOAA Doppler radars and reconnaissance aircraft indicate that maximum sustained winds have increased to near 45 mph with higher gusts,” according to NHC senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart. “No change in strength is expected until landfall occurs in a few hours. Rapid weakening is forecast after Danny moves inland.”
Tropical storm conditions are were hitting South Carolina on Monday afternoon. About 1 to 3 inches of rain are expected along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts. At the peak of high tide, storm surges of 1 to 3 feet may be possible from Port Royal Sound, SC to South Santee River, the NHC forecast.
Also on Monday, the NHC continued to monitor a broad area of low pressure associated with a tropical wave that rolled off of the African coast last week. The low is producing small clusters of showers and thunderstorms over the eastern tropics, the NHC said.
Slow development is possible through the end of this week as it moves west at 20 mph possibly reaching the Lesser Antilles late Wednesday.
The low has a 20% chance of forming into a tropical depression or storm in the next two days and a 40% chance of doing so in the next five.
If the low develops it will be the fifth named storm of the year and receive the name Elsa.
