In the latest storm update at 2:00 a.m. on September 16 (local time), forecasters from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that the low pressure has the potential to strengthen into storm No. 8 Helene with maximum sustained winds of 72 km/h and is moving northwest at a speed of nearly 5 km/h. The low pressure is located about 185 km east-southeast of Charleston, South Carolina.
The latest storm forecast predicts that this low pressure will strengthen into storm Helene on September 16.
The eighth storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is expected to affect the area from Edisto Beach, South Carolina to Ocracoke Bay, North Carolina, in the next 48 hours. More than 2 million people in the area were under a tropical storm warning on September 16.
"According to the forecast track, the eye of the storm will move ashore in the warning area on September 16," the US National Hurricane Center's storm information noted.
The depression is expected to strengthen before making landfall in the US due to very warm Atlantic waters and relatively low wind shear.
As a result of the storm, forecasters are predicting 3 to 6 inches of rain across northern and northeastern South Carolina and the North Carolina coastal plain. Between 2 to 4 inches of rain is forecast for the area extending north into Virginia.
Flood watches have been issued for more than 8 million people across the Carolinas. "This system will bring the potential for flash flooding and minor river flooding in eastern North Carolina and northeastern South Carolina overnight on September 16 into the morning of September 17. There is also a risk of flash flooding and minor river flooding across the mid-Atlantic region through September 18," forecasters said.
Earlier, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that the eye of Hurricane No. 7 Gordon was about 1,860 km from the Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds of 64 km/h. Hurricane No. 7 of the Atlantic hurricane season is moving west-northwest at a speed of 16 km/h.
"A west to west-southwestward movement is expected over the next few days, with Gordon expected to slow significantly by mid-week," forecasters said in their latest hurricane bulletin. Gordon is expected to weaken to a tropical depression late on Tuesday, according to the US National Hurricane Center. The storm does not pose a threat to the US mainland.
Hurricane Gordon and potential Hurricane Helene formed just days after Hurricane Francine struck the United States as a Category 2 storm. Francine downed trees, flooded coastal areas and caused power outages in four states, while also severely impacting U.S. oil and gas production. Nearly a fifth of U.S. crude oil production and 28 percent of gas production in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico remained offline through Sept. 15, the U.S. Offshore Energy Management Agency said.
