The track shows the storm moving “erratically” and lingering along the coast of Georgia and SC through Thursday and then dissipating, the advisory said.
Advertisement
SC is in for another good soaking from a tropical storm less than two weeks after Hermine slogged through the state.
The Hurricane Center also said an isolated tornado was possible across coastal Georgia and southern SC on Wednesday.
Flood watches were dropped for the SC coast Thursday although forecasters issued a small craft advisory for waters near the shore and said there was a danger of rip currents along the coast through Thursday evening. Winds from Julia also downed some limbs and caused power outages on St. Simons Island, said Jay Wiggins, emergency management director for Glynn County.
State Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall urged drivers to be wary of flash flooding and not to try to drive through flooded roads. That storm brought from 3 to 6 inches of rain but mainly in areas of the Midlands farther inland.
At 11 p.m., the National Hurricane Center made the decision to name the storm after a small area of tropical storm-force winds was consistently reported for 12 hours.
The storm was located near Brunswick, Georgia, at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Julia is expected to move along the coast, prompting flash flood watches for much of the Georgia and SC coastline.
Tropical Storm Julia was about about 25 miles southeast of Savannah, Georgia, late Wednesday and is moving northeast at 6 mph, the storm advisory shows.
A tropical storm warning is in effect Wednesday morning for Fernandina Beach to the Altamaha Sound in Georgia. Officials at the National Hurricane Center in Miami say it’s moving slowly and is expected to weaken to a tropical depression later Wednesday.
Advertisement
Tropical Storm Ian is still spinning in the mid-Atlantic about 700 miles east of Bermuda. It isn’t expected to strengthen much during the next couple of days. In the Pacific, Hurricane Orlene continued to weaken.
