Tropical Storm Colin Forms Off Coast of Southeastern U.S. Saturday Morning

Posted: July 2, 2022 12:37 pm

A new tropical storm developed off the coast of the southeastern U.S. on Saturday morning, putting a damper on the holiday weekend plans of many Americans. Tropical Storm Colin is the third named storm of the 2022 Atlantic season, forming just one day after Tropical Storm Bonnie rushed onshore to the coast of Central America.

Colin to Bring Significant Rain and Gusty Winds to Carolina Coast

According to the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Colin was moving just off the coast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina by the middle of the Saturday. Colin was moving to the northeast at a slow speed of 7 mph. The top sustained wind measurement of Colin barely topped 40 mph, giving it just enough strength to officially qualify as a named tropical storm. The NHC issued tropical storm warnings for parts of the coastline of North Carolina and South Carolina.

While Tropical Storm Colin is not expected to pick up much strength, it will certainly make for a rainy few days along the northern coast of South Carolina and throughout the coast of North Carolina. Residents in this region should expect locally heavy rains and strong winds.

Forecasters are estimating that the impact zone will see 2 to 4 inches of rain through Monday. Areas more inland will only see rainfall amounts up to 2 inches by the time the storm pushes through. The worst winds of the storm are forecast to remain offshore. However, some parts of Outer Banks of North Carolina may see isolated gusts of up to 50 mph associated with Colin.

Beachgoers will also have to be aware of rough surf and dangerous rip currents as the storm churns offshore. Beach erosion is another possibility. Unfortunately for the Outer Banks, this area has already been dealing with significant coastal erosion over the last few years.

Forecasters are predicting that the storm will take a turn and start heading back out to sea by Sunday afternoon.

Update on Tropical Storm Bonnie

Tropical Storm Bonnie slammed into the coast of Central America near the Nicaragua-Costa Rica border late Friday, making history in the process. Bonnie is distinguished for its accelerated formation in the southwestern Caribbean Sea, racing to Central America and over the continent and out in the Pacific Ocean in just 24 hours. Forecasters are predicting that the tropical storm will gain intensity and size as it meets up with favorable development conditions in the East Pacific Ocean, eventually taking on hurricane status.

Bonnie was packing winds of 50 mph when it made landfall, bringing heavy rains along with it. The eye of the storm had moved off of land by 10 am local time Saturday. Because the center of circulation did not fall apart when it crossed over land and back into another ocean, it will retain the name of Bonnie despite it falling under the designation of a Pacific storm.

Bonnie is the first crossover storm since Hurricane Otto remained intact as it cruised over Costa Rica and came out into the Eastern Pacific as a tropical storm in November 2016.

Tropical Storm Bonnie is forecast to run parallel to the coastal areas of El Salvador and Guatemala early this week before moving closer to the southern coast of Mexico. The storm will likely bring heavy rainfall and strong winds to the southwestern coast of Mexico in the coming days. Strong rip currents could also present a danger through the next week.

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