Tropical system expected to bring heavy rain to Lowcountry

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) — A tropical system with the potential to become a tropical cyclone is forecast to pass near the Lowcountry in the next few days. Its center is forecast to move along the South Carolina coast by Monday or Tuesday.

Heavy rain is expected to impact the Lowcountry by Sunday as the weather system crosses the peninsula into northeastern Florida. Rain is expected to increase further on Monday with a potential of 4 to 8 inches incoming. With the rain comes the potential for flooding.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) predicts the system center will move over the South Carolina coast around 2 p.m. Tuesday. 40 mph winds are expected to accompany the system.

“Lots of moisture will be pulled northbound by this tropical system, and what that means for us is potentially heavy rain. The track of the storm is still uncertain… but as we see this move right over Florida off the coast of Georgia and the Carolinas, that will bring a lot of moisture and a lot of rainfall here,” said Storm Team 2 Chief Meteorologist Rob Fowler.

According to NHC, potential Tropical Cyclone 4 is currently over eastern Cuba, producing a large area of poorly organized showers and thunderstorms. Forecasters say the storm has an 80% chance of formation over the next 48 hours and 90% over the next seven days.

As of Friday, the disturbance had sustained winds of 30 mph. Tropical storm watches and warnings are already in place along Florida’s west coast.