For parts of North and South Carolina, a tropical storm warning was issued on Friday as Ana approached the U.S. coast. The tropical storm warning is in effect from the south Santee River in South Carolina to Surf City, North Carolina. AccuWeather predicted that the storm will bring rain, wind and rough surf to the Southeast coast through the weekend.
Ana is the earliest subtropical (or tropical) storm to form in the Atlantic basin since Ana of 2003. The storm is centered about 180 miles (285 kilometers) south-southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Hurricane Center says it’s been nearly stationary over the last few hours but is likely to move north-northwest later in the day.
The hurricane center warned that as much as 2 to 4 inches of rain could fall from the storm over the weekend in eastern sections of the Carolinas. Swells are also expected to cause “life-threatening surf and rip currents.” Forecasters are warning people to avoid dangerous surf and rip currents being kicked up by the storm. Some isolated flooding is also expected in some areas along the coast.
On Sunday, the storm’s center is forecast to make landfall in South Carolina, though impacts from the storm have already begun and will continue through the day on Saturday.
