Tropical Storm Colin was blustering through coastal South Carolina on its way to North Carolina’s shores Saturday, one of the storms around the country that could inconvenience travelers and revelers on the Fourth of July weekend.
Colin was centered about 5 miles west of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, with sustained winds of 40 mph, around 11 a.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said.
Colin’s heaviest rains and strongest winds were along the Carolinas’ coast and at sea Saturday morning. Still, locally heavy rain — up to 4 inches — could fall across parts of coastal South and North Carolina by Sunday morning, the center said.
The storm formed near South Carolina’s coast early Saturday.
Tropical storm warnings were in effect Saturday morning for roughly the northern third of South Carolina’s coast, as well as much of North Carolina’s coast. The warning means tropical storm conditions — including sustained winds of at least 39 mph — were possible within the next 36 hours.
Colin is forecast to move up North Carolina’s coast late Saturday into Sunday, before entering the open Atlantic Ocean and heading away from the US by Sunday night.
Separate storms could hit nation’s capital and the Northeast
Other storms, meanwhile, could hit several regions of the US on Saturday.
Severe storms are possible across the northern Plains and the Northeast, and scattered thunderstorms are possible in much of the South.
The day’s greatest risk for severe weather — a “slight” risk, or level 2 of 5 — appeared to be in eastern Montana and the Dakotas, as well as a stretch from northern Virginia to New England, the Storm Prediction Center said.
That includes Washington, DC; Baltimore, Philadelphia; New York City; and Boston. Damaging winds and hail are possible, the center said.
Drivers in these areas may have to take it slow, CNN meteorologist Karen Maginnis said Saturday morning.
“You need to exercise that caution and just take your time, because those roads are going to be very tricky,” Maginnis said.
