“We’re really just seeing large amounts of water”, Pearson said, noting that many roads in the Outer Banks are at sea level, meaning that they can be quickly impacted by heavy rains.
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Afternoon rain is also forecast to be more widespread than Monday.
The National Hurricane Center discontinued all tropical storm warnings as the remnants of Colin speed off into the Atlantic Ocean.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation says crews are monitoring roadways prone to flooding, clearing them of fallen trees and debris, and installing road closures as necessary. The Florida Highway Patrol closed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge that spans Tampa Bay between Pinellas and Manatee counties, due to high winds. Its winds will spread from parts of Florida to the Southeast coast on Monday night up to Tuesday.
With one to five inches of additional rain expected to douse central Florida into Tuesday evening, some Tampa Bay area municipalities continued to supply sandbags to residents.
Southwest Florida is also under a flood watch.
With 34 counties under a tropical storm warning, Scott issued emergency orders activating the Division of Emergency Management as well as the Florida National Guard.
Thomson ReutersA NASA satellite image showing the Tropical Storm Colin over Florida and the U.S. South-East coast(Reuters) – Tropical Storm Colin made landfall early on Tuesday sweeping northern Florida with heavy rainfall and strong winds as it headed northeast toward southeastern Georgia and coast of North and SC.
At 5 a.m. Tuesday, the disorganized system was located about 110 miles east of Jacksonville and speeding toward the northeast at 31 mph, according the the National Hurricane Center. It could bring as much as 10 inches of rain and cause life-threatening flash floods and mudslides in the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, Tabasco and eastern Veracruz.
This latest tropical storm is unique for a couple of reasons. Gov. Rick Scott had already declared a state of emergency Monday morning as a precaution.
While wind gusts as high as 63 miles per hour were recorded in Jacksonville, meteorologists in that National Weather Service office have not confirmed a tornado.
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On Georgia’s Tybee Island, lifeguards posted red flags on the beach to warn swimmers of rip currents and 2- to 3-foot breakers.
