Weeks ahead of the official start of Atlantic hurricane season, the first named tropical storm of the year was slowly approaching the Carolinas coast on Saturday night.
Ana was centered about 65 miles south-east of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, on Saturday afternoon, according to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami. The storm had top sustained winds of 60mph but had slowed from its earlier speed, moving northwest at 3mph and was forecast to be “very near” the coasts of South and North Carolina by Sunday morning.
Universities along the Carolina coastline were monitoring the storm as a possible disruption to weekend commencements. Ceremonies scheduled for Brooks Stadium Saturday at Coastal Carolina University in Conway, South Carolina, were moved indoors out of caution.
Ana is the earliest tropical storm to form in the Atlantic basin since a storm of the same name brewed in the area in 2003, the NWS said. The Atlantic hurricane season begins on 1 June but forecasters have told the Associated Press early tropical storms are not unheard of.
“We had a similar situation occur twice back in 2012 when we had two early season tropical storms, Alberto and Beryl,” said senior hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart, of a May which featured two early storms.
“That was very unusual to get two storms before the normal start of the hurricane season; one is not that unusual.”
The NHC pronunciation of #Ana is AH-nah , not Ann-ah. For more 2015 names, see: http://t.co/6CfYYWALl2 pic.twitter.com/eoWstFbQ0e
— Natl Hurricane Ctr (@NHC_Atlantic) May 8, 2015
The North Myrtle Beach Department of Public Safety announced on Saturday that no swimming in the ocean was allowed because of the weather. In New Hanover County, North Carolina, officials cautioned people who were thinking about coming to the beach over the weekend about the elevated risk of rip currents.
Stacy Stewart, a hurricane specialist at the hurricane center, said dangerous surf and rip tides appear to be the biggest threat posed by the Atlantic season’s first tropical storm though isolated flooding in some coastal areas is also a concern.
The center said a tropical storm warning had been extended from the southern part of the Santee River in South Carolina to Cape Lookout, North Carolina, with 1 to 3 inches of rain expected over a wide area and up to 5 inches in some isolated spots.
The hurricane center also said the storm could push water one or two feet above normal height levels, causing some localized flooding.
A tropical storm watch also was in effect for Edisto Beach, South Carolina, up through the southern tip of the Santee river.
A tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area – in Ana’s case within 12 to 24 hours, according to the center. A tropical storm watch means tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area within 24 hours.
