Earlier this month Tropical Storm Hermine dropped from 3 to 6 inches (76 to 152 mm) of rain, mainly in areas of the Midlands farther inland.
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A storm over Florida’s northeast coast given no chance of developing Tuesday morning officially became the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season’s 10th named storm in the overnight hours.
That the storm developed at all isn’t that notable, but where it formed is. Researchers even have a name for it: the brown ocean effect, which occurs when the ground is already saturated and atmospheric temperatures are similar to the tropics.
Although Julia’s formation over land is a meteorological oddity, it is not a requirement for the center of a tropical weather disturbance to be over water to develop into a storm. University of Miami hurricane expert Brian McNoldy noted on Twitter that it might be the first tropical storm to spend zero time over open water.
Tropical Storm Warning issued for portions of the First Coast until further notice.
The depression’s maximum sustained winds early Thursday had decreased to near 35 miles per hour (56 kph) with little change in strength forecast over the next two days.
Tropical Storm Julia continues to move slowly along the Atlantic Coast near the Georgia-South Carolina state line.
Winds were never going to be a big concern with the storm, though.
The National Hurricane Center’s rainfall forecast calls for three to six inches of rain along the SC coastline south of Georgetown, and two to four inches around Savannah.
Julia is forecast to weaken to a tropical depression later Wednesday but will still bring heavy rain to coastal areas of Georgia and SC over the next couple of days, potentially causing flash floods.
In Julia’s case, while the center of the storm technically formed over land, most of the storm’s heavy rain and thunderstorms were offshore, Klotzbach said.
Elsewhere, Tropical Storm Ian has grown slightly stronger but still was no threat to land over the central Atlantic.
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The depression, meanwhile, may strengthen to a tropical storm, but is forecast to still be out at sea as late as Monday, Sept. 19. While it’s forecast to reach tropical storm status early next week or this weekend, it’s still way too early to anticipate whether its track will come anywhere near land.
