The islands there may see tropical storm force winds of up to 60 miles per hour. Several Outer Banks businesses reported cancellations and slower foot traffic.
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As of 4 a.m. CDT, Tropical Depression 9 was located about 305 miles west of Key West, Fla., and was moving west at 7 mph, according to the hurricane center. Hurricane conditions are possible for areas of Florida from the Anclote River to Indian Pass on the west coast Thursday.
The storm’s winds were holding steady at 35 miles per hour, but that could change later today.
With the storm centered about 70 miles (115 kilometers) south of Cape Hatteras, a tropical storm warning was in effect for much of the Outer Banks.
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While the Outer Banks is already feeling the effects of the Tropical Depression off it’s coast, some effects are also being felt in Virginia Beach.
Expected to become a named tropical storm, the system has the potential to bring rain to southeastern Newfoundland Thursday night or Friday, Environment Canada reports.
Water temperatures in the Gulf are plenty warm enough to support hurricane development, and the Gulf Coast is full of vulnerable population centers from Tampa to Texas.
The silver lining – and there is likely to be one – is that once the storm is gone, the rest of the Labor Day weekend could be a thing of beauty, said Pfaff. It’s expected to slowly intensify over the next 48 hours and could become a tropical storm later Tuesday, forecasters said. “It is kept as a tropical storm into Saturday, after which time it loses its tropical characteristics on Sunday as it moves away from the U.S. Coastline”.
A ridge to the north of our area is expected to weaken by midweek, which will allow for the storm to slow down and move more north or northeastward as a trough digs into the northeastern USA mid to late week.
“Rough surf is nearly certain, but even some gusty winds or some rain are possible for places like the Cape and Islands or even eastern Massachusetts”, Leonard said.
Tornadoes are also a possibility near and to the south of the storm’s path.
At Ride The Wind Surf Shop on Ocracoke Island, owner Bob Chestnut said he canceled all of his kayak tours and other rentals for Tuesday because he was concerned about the wind. In addition, large and damaging surf is expected along east facing shores of the Big Island as well.
“We can not recall a case where three tropical cyclones were directly impacting the U.S.at the same time”, National Hurricane Center spokesman Dennis Feltgen said.
Hurricane Gaston with 110mph winds is expected to meander east-northeastward in the open Atlantic and eventually weaken to a tropical storm by Friday.
Drew reported from Durham, North Carolina.
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Meanwhile, a hurricane warning was issued for the big island of Hawaii as Hurricane Madeline is approaching the state.
