It might even get a name – if it grows up a bit.
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Tropical Depression 8 still appeared rather disorganized as it moved slowly away from the North Carolina coast with winds of 35 miles per hour on Wednesday morning.
How much damage it does before then will be determined by its level of intensification in midweek.
A hurricane watch has been issued for the Florida Gulf Coast from the Anclote River Indian Pass.
Local governments are distributing sandbags in the Florida Gulf Coast, where a tropical storm warning of 15 inches of rain has been issued.
The system is expected to make landfall late Thursday or early Friday near the Florida Panhandle as a tropical storm.
Early forecasts had indicated the system could drench the state with up to 5 inches of rain before it curved out to sea.
The storm is now a tropical depression though the National Weather Service says it is expected to strengthen in coming hours.
There are two named tropical systems in the Atlantic with a possible third on the way, and two named hurricanes are headed for Hawaii in the Pacific. “The east side is the side that carries all the precipitation”.
Tornadoes are also possible late tonight into Thursday morning, mainly across central Florida.
But Ulrich said Lake should be spared the worst.
Tropical Depression 9 on Wednesday morning paused on its trek toward Florida, which was peppered with watches and warnings in anticipation of a Thursday landfall. They will reach that status – and earn an official name – when their wind speeds reach 39 miles per hour.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Andrew Hagan says the tropical depression that’s expected to become a tropical storm later Wednesday is keeping the atmosphere more moist than usual.
On Wednesday, the wind shear will be more relaxed, but the system will still be battling the dry air west and NW of the low. Winds speeds near the center of the storm could be as strong as 60 miles per hour which combined with heavy rain could cause some trees to come down. A break in the rain before more showers were expected also brought families out at midday.
Karins warned of rough surf and unsafe rip currents off of North Carolina as so-called Tropical Depression 8, which had glanced the coastline late Tuesday, headed back out into the Atlantic.
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Crowds thinned Tuesday on the beaches of North Carolina’s Outer Banks ahead of a tropical weather system that threatened to bring strong winds and heavy rains that could flood low-lying areas. The National Hurricane Center forecast calls for steady intensification during the next day or so. If peak storm surge occurs at the same time as high tide, areas such as Tampa Bay could see flooding of 1 to 2 feet.
