As of 4:30pm Saturday, the storm has been upgraded to Tropical Storm Bonnie, with max sustained winds of 40 miles per hour. Rain has been falling on SC since Saturday, and was forecast to spread northeastward into the Mid-Atlantic states over the next few days. Forecasters say the worst of the rain and winds are ahead of the center of the tropical storm. Bonnie was moving north at 8 miles per hour (13 kph) and tropical storm warnings remained in effect for the entire SC coast.
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The system will bring up to six inches of rainfall from central and eastern SC to the Georgia border and life-threatening surf and rip currents to the Atlantic beaches during the long Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial start of the summer vacation season.
The system’s circulation, along with occasional showers and thunderstorms, probably lingers several days along the South Carolina-North Carolina coast, gradually weakening through midweek.
An isolated tornado or two will be possible from Saturday night to early Sunday over the immediate coastal region from central SC and southern North Carolina. Significant flash flooding is NOT expected at this time. That region could also see isolated tornadoes.
Heavy rains from Tropical Storm Bonnie soaked the coasts of SC, southeastern North Carolina and eastern Georgia on Saturday before the storm weakened and moved northward.
The center of Bonnie was about 135 miles from Charleston as of 8 p.m. EDT, the Miami-based center said in advising.
Rainfall of 2 to 4 inches with a maximum of 6 inches is expected from eastern SC through southeastern North Carolina, the NHC said. The hurricane prompted hurricane and tropical storm warnings for the Azores and forced the closure of schools and businesses.
The possibility of rain remains in the forecast through Friday.
Central and Southeast Texas could get scattered thunderstorms over the holiday weekend, but officials plan to monitor local rivers and waterways in case they overflow due to the heavy rainfall.
Beaches were open Saturday morning with lifeguards warning of rough surf. That is what prompted the warnings, first issued Friday.
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Anyone who may be along the coast should avoid going into the water, as strong rip currents are forecast for the remainder of the weekend.
