The latest briefing for Tropical Storm Elsa was released by the National Weather Service of Wilmington this morning. The main changes since the last briefing are Elsa has weakened to a Tropical Storm again. Also, the track is slightly west of the previous forecast. This may require additional Tropical Storm Warnings away from the coast for low end Tropical Storm conditions.
Regardless, there has been very little change in the impacts the NWS are expecting across the area.
Tropical Storm Elsa is located just SSW of Cedar Key, Florida, now has winds of 65 mph. The storm is expected to weaken further by the time it affects northeast South Carolina and southeast North Carolina.
The situation overview given by the NWS states the following:
- Heavy rain across the coastal Carolinas may produce isolated flash and urban flooding tonight through Thursday evening.
- Isolated tornadoes are also possible tonight into Thursday.
- A few wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph are possible late tonight through Thursday afternoon, mainly along the beaches/offshore, near the center, and/or within any heavier bands of showers/thunderstorms. Dangerous swells will result in a high rip current risk.
- Conditions should improve by Thursday evening as the system moves to the northeast away from the area. However, the rip current risk will likely remain elevated into Friday.
View the full NWS ILM briefing below.
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