Tropical Storm Arthur Forms Off Florida, Warnings Issued
- by Jake Bell
- in Research
- — May 18, 2020
Tropical storm warnings have been issued for the Outer Banks. Regarding its forecast track, Arthur will remain well offshore the east coast of Florida, Georgia and South Carolina Sunday.
"Later in the weekend and early next week, the system is expected to move generally northeastward over the western Atlantic", NHC forecaster John Cangialosi said in a 3 p.m. A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for parts of the North Carolina coast by the National Weather Service.
Arthur is expected to bring 25-75 mm of rain to coastal North Carolina Sunday and Monday, with locally higher amounts.
Arthur would be the first named storm of the 2020 hurricane season, which has been projected to be busier than usual, with a 40 percent increase in activity predicted.
Some strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours but Arthur is likely to lose its tropical characteristics Tuesday, according to the Hurricane Center.
More news: Glitch in Ontario's coronavirus reporting resulted in missed cases on ThursdayThe system, which had maximum sustained winds of 35 miles per hour as of 5 p.m. Saturday, is slowly gathering strength and is anticipated to continue to organize as it moves to the northeast, parallel to the Florida coast.
"On the forecast track, Arthur will remain well offshore the east coast of Florida, Georgia, and SC today, and then move near or just east of the coast of North Carolina on Monday".
While there may be a component of warming waters and climate change in other pre-June storms, Arthur is more of a subtropical storm system than a traditional named storm and its water is cooler than what's usually needed for storm formation, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
Winds are sustained at 40 miles per hour.
That's when more than 20 tornadoes touched down in SC, with eight confirmed in the Midlands region - the most significant outbreak for the area since March 28, 1984, according to the NWS.
More news: Royals in mourning: Tragic death of ‘everyday princess’ at just 31Periods of moderate to heavy rainfall are possible mainly along the coast, with the potential for localized minor flooding of low lying areas.
But in the immediate sense, it means more unsettled weather for parts of the state, which could mean heavy rainfall and gusty winds across portions of east-central Florida and the northwestern Bahamas through Saturday, the hurricane center said.
We may wake up to a Tropical Storm or subtropical Arthur in the morning.
Thursday was the second wettest May day on record for the city of Marathon in the Florida Keys. Risky surf conditions and increased rip currents are expected as well.
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