Still, any rain could pose a risk of flooding in an area soaked by Hermine less than two weeks ago. The storm was about 25 miles southeast of Savannah, Ga., and was “likely to meander near the northern Georgia or southern SC coastlines through Thursday”, according to an advisory issued by the hurricane center Wednesday afternoon.
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Julia is now a minimal tropical storm with 40 miles per hour winds and is only slowly drifting to the northeast at 6 miles per hour. For that reason a FLOOD WATCH is now in effect for Horry and Georgetown Counties through late Friday.
SC is in for another good soaking from a tropical storm less than two weeks after Hermine slogged through the state.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center say Tropical Storm Julia could mean 4 to 8 inches (102 to 203 mm) of rain along the SC coast through Friday as it moves slowly northeast.
State Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall urged drivers to be wary of flash flooding and not to try to drive through flooded roads.
Rain totals further inland will drop off quickly with 1 to 2 inches more likely.
Georgia Power officials say about 100 homes and businesses are without power Wednesday morning.
Up the coast, Principal Patrick Rossiter of Tybee Island Maritime Academy said he was keeping close tabs on the latest storm reports and radar Wednesday. It will ultimately lose all its tropical characteristics and become a remnant low pressure system.
The storm was expected to produce as much as 10 inches of rain on the northeastern Florida, Georgia and SC coastlines through Friday, raising the possibility of flash flooding, the center said.
The storm also wreaked havoc in Jacksonville, where a Tropical Storm Warning was issued, before moving north.
The storm is not expected to strength much.
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“Given this persistent organization, the system is classifiable as a tropical cyclone and advisories are being initiated on Tropical Storm Julia, the tenth named storm of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season”, the center said in its discussion Tuesday night.
