Tropical Storm Colin forms overnight, warning in place from Duck to South Carolina

Published 9:23 am Saturday, July 2, 2022

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Tropical Storm Colin developed unexpectedly along the coast of South Carolina overnight and a Tropical Storm Warning is now in effect along the coast of both North and South Carolina.

According to the National Weather Service Newport/Morehead City Office, Colin is forecast to move northeast around 8 mph, which will take the storm along or just inland of the North Carolina coast Saturday, July 2 into Sunday, July 3. “The main impacts to NC will be numerous showers with locally heavy rainfall, wind gusts to 40 mph along the coast, and possibly an isolated tornado,” stated the agency’s 6 a.m. update. “Please monitor the NWS for the latest on Colin.”

As of the 8 a.m. bulletin from the NOAA National Hurricane Center, a Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for South Santee River, South Carolina to Duck, North Carolina and the Pamlico Sound. A Tropical Storm Warning indicates that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.

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“At 800 AM EDT (1200 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Colin was located inland over South Carolina near latitude 33.6 North, longitude 79.3 West.  Colin is moving toward the northeast near 8 mph (13 km/h), and this general motion is expected to continue through Sunday,” stated the NOAA National Hurricane Center bulletin. “A turn toward the east-northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected late Sunday and Sunday night. On the forecast track, the center of Colin is expected to move northeastward along or just inland of the South Carolina and North Carolina coasts through Sunday, and then emerge over the western Atlantic Ocean late Sunday.”

The rip current risk as of Saturday morning is high for the areas south of the Cape Hatteras beach area and moderate for areas north of the Cape Hatteras beach area.

On Saturday morning, Dare County Emergency Management offered these tips and resources:  

  • View the latest watches, warnings and advisories from the National Weather Service at weather.gov/mhx
  • Be mindful that the threat of rip currents will increase and remain elevated until well after the storm passes, making conditions dangerous for even the most experienced swimmers. For daily beach reports, visit LovetheBeachRespectheOcean.com.
  • Subscribe to receive emergency alerts directly from Dare County Emergency Management and local towns at OBXAlerts.com.
  • Keep your cell phone charged with Government Alerts enabled to ensure you receive National Weather Service issued alerts for life threatening weather conditions.

UPDATE:

Colin downgraded to tropical depression, warnings for North Carolina coast discontinued

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