MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Danny formed Monday afternoon off South Carolina’s coast, and forecasters said the storm is expected to race inland over the U.S. Southeast while dumping several inches of rain in some spots.
The fourth named storm of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season formed close to South Carolina’s coast and had top sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) with higher guests.
Tropical storm force winds were already being felt in South Carolina on Monday afternoon. A weather station at Folly Beach — just outside Charleston — recorded a wind gust of 41 mph (66 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
At 3 p.m., the storm was about 45 miles (70 kilometers) southeast of Charleston, the hurricane center said.
The storm was headed to the west-northwest at 16 mph (26 kph) and was expected to dump several inches of rain on some parts of South Carolina and Georgia during its trek inland.
Danny emerged from a tropical depression off the coast, and forecasters said rapid weakening is expected after landfall.
A tropical storm warning was posted earlier Monday for a swath of the Southeast coast from Edisto Beach to South Santee River, South Carolina.
The storm could produce between 1 and 3 inches (3 to 8 centimeters) of rain with higher amounts in some coastal areas.
In Savannah, Georgia, all systems were go for Tuesday night’s Savannah Bananas home baseball game as organizers eyed the storm. Officials for the collegiate summer league team planned to cover the field with tarp on Monday in preparation for the game.
“For us, being on the coast and being in Savannah, we get some nasty pop-up storms that can dump an inch of rain in just a few hours,” Bananas President Jared Orton said Monday. “This one doesn’t look like much more than just a nice, passing day of rain. I think we’re good to go as long as the sun comes out tomorrow and it should be a beautiful night in Savannah, I would think.”
