But because Julia is moving so slowly, just 7 miles per hour, rainfall of 3 to 6 inches near the Georgia and SC coastlines are forecast through Friday afternoon, with up to 10 inches possible in isolated areas.
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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.
The strong winds will produce rough seas, minor coastal flooding and beach erosion along the coastal areas from Jacksonville to Savannah, Georgia, into Wednesday afternoon.
Tropical Storm Julia actually formed over land last night, and is now centered along the coast of Georgia. Main areas of concern in southeast Georgia are McCoys Creek, Hogans Creek, Sherman Creek and the City of Brunswick.
“We are going to see this kind of meander along the Atlantic coast – I’m going to say loitering”.
This is the first time a tropical storm has formed over land in Florida.
East of Julia is Tropical Storm Ian, which is east of Bermuda; but it poses no threat to any land areas.
“It will continue to move into Georgia and the Carolinas, bringing rain and storms in that direction”, Bridges said.
Rainfall totals in the T&D Region through Friday are forecast to be between 1 inch and 2 inches, though higher amounts are possible in thunderstorms. The depression’s maximum sustained winds are near 35 miles per hour (56 kph) with little change in strength expected over the next two days. Then long-range forecast has it reintensifying into a tropical storm later in the weekend when it would be in the central Atlantic.
The northward-moving storm was just west of St. Augustine by 8 p.m. But as students arrived for classes he said, “so far, everything is a go”.
The storm will not hit the area as hard as Hermine either in widescale rainfall or winds, he said.
Nearby, “we’re flying our double red flags at the beach, which basically means the beach is closed”, Tybee Island Mayor Jason Buelterman said Wednesday. As of 11 p.m. Wednesday, Mount Pleasant had recorded the highest local total at 6.66 inches, Bright said.
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Tropical Depression Julia will continue to weaken over the next couple days as it moves very little off the Carolina coast.
