Tropical weather in the Atlantic is slamming the Caribbean and may strike Southeast US next

Audio By Carbonatix

MIAMI (AP) — Dangerous tropical weather brewed Saturday in the Atlantic Ocean with Humberto intensifying into a powerful Category 4 hurricane and a weather system taking aim at the Southeast U.S.

Hurricane Humberto had maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 kph) Saturday, according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory. The storm was located about 375 miles (605 kilometers) northeast of the northern Leeward Islands. It was moving west at 6 mph (9 kph).

Humberto could produce life-threatening surf and rip currents for the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Bermuda over the weekend, forecasters said.

Meanwhile, a weather system likely to develop into a tropical storm over the weekend was threatening parts of the Bahamas and Cuba with heavy rainfall and flash flooding. Parts of the Bahamas were under a tropical storm warning on Saturday.

That same system was on track to approach the Southeast U.S. early next week. Gradual strengthening into a tropical storm is expected by Sunday; forecasters said it would become a hurricane by late Monday.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster declared a state of emergency over the storm Friday evening saying while there was uncertainty, the state needed to prepare. The declaration allows state emergency officials to begin coordination with local and federal governments and assures people will be eligible for federal aid.

On Friday, crews in Charleston, South Carolina, were getting sandbags together, checking high water vehicles and preparing pumps to get any floodwater out of the city.

“Even though this has not formed yet, we are treating it as if we are expecting some kind of impact. That’s critical. We don’t want to downplay the scenario,” Chief Fire Marshal Michael Julazadeh said at an emergency Charleston City Council meeting.

The tropical disturbance has already brought heavy rains in the Dominican Republic on Friday, leading authorities to evacuate hundreds of people and declare a red alert in five provinces. Flooding of rivers, streams, and ravines left dozens of communities cut off by landslides and fallen bridges, including one that collapsed while a truck was crossing, killing the driver in the community of Yamasá.

Flooding in the southwestern province of Azua, one of the areas most affected by the rains, displaced at least 774 people, and 26 were being sheltered due to the overflowing of the Tábara River, Civil Defense spokesman Jensen Sánchez told The Associated Press.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency urged residents of coastal areas in the Southeast U.S. on Thursday to pay attention as that weather system continues to develop, saying its staff “is ready to respond swiftly, if needed.”

In the eastern Atlantic, the center of post-tropical cyclone Gabrielle moved away from the Azores. A hurricane warning for the entire Portuguese archipelago was discontinued.

Some strengthening was forecast through Friday night, with weakening expected over the weekend, and Gabrielle was expected to approach the Portugal’s coast by early Sunday. Swells expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents were expected to reach Portugal, northwestern Spain and northern Morocco on Saturday.

In the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Narda was churning about 1,025 miles (1,650 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California and heading west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph). The Category 1 storm was expected to maintain its strength on Friday before weakening over the weekend.

Swells generated by Narda were affecting coastal Mexico and Baja California Sur, forecasters said. The swells that could bring life-threatening surf and rip current conditions were expected to reach southern California over the weekend.