“Right now we’re thinking this will mostly be a big rain producer for the northwest and northern part of the peninsula”, said Dan Kottlowski, hurricane expert with the Pennsylvania-based AccuWeather. We are monitoring it closely as its impacts are already being felt, but its proximity to land limits the storm’s ability to strengthen significantly.
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As of 2 p.m. ET Tuesday, Tropical Depression 8 was about 70 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C., with winds of 35 mph, the National Hurricane Center said. A cold front will move this way Wednesday and that will be the start of a weather pattern change. But the depression had yet to reach tropical storm strength as it curved out to sea Wednesday.
Federal regulators say offshore operators have temporarily evacuated workers from some oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico because of a tropical depression.
The main threat with this storm is rain. A tropical storm warning was in effect from Oregon Inlet to Cape Lookout and in Pamlico Sound.
The storm remains over water temperatures above 80°, which would typically support further intensification. The storm’s center should reach North Carolina’s Outer Banks by Tuesday afternoon or evening, forecasters said. The storm was forecast to “pass dangerously close” on Wednesday, prompting the NWS to issue a hurricane warning for the island. He noted that even tropical storm-force winds downed trees and power lines when Tropical Storm Iselle hit two years ago.
It’s expected to make landfall in the Florida Big Bend area Thursday as a named storm, cross the northern tier of the state and ride the coast along the Georgia and SC border before heading out to sea.
If the storm lingers in the Gulf, however, and is allowed to drift north and west, it could make landfall in the more populated Florida panhandle and would have a little extra time to strengthen as well. In this time, brisk but manageable east breezes, scattered to numerous showers and storms, heavier-than-average surf, and an elevated risk of rip currents are expected.
Rainfall in the northeast Florida region is expected to be around five to eight inches, though some spots could see as much as 10-12 inches.
On Hawaii’s Big Island, residents were warned on Tuesday of an encroaching hurricane expected to bring strong winds and heavy rains.
The weather system off the coast was expected to strengthen and pass near the Outer Banks by late Tuesday, bringing sustained winds as high as 45 miles per hour and heavy rains of up to 5 inches in some areas.
The official track predicts the center of Madeline will pass just south of Hawaii, although some models still expect a landfall late Wednesday on the Big Island.
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The depression’s maximum sustained are near 35 miles per hour (55 kph) and forecasters say it could become a tropical storm later in the day.
