SAVANNAH, GA (WSAV) — The tropics might have been slow to start this hurricane season (not that anyone is complaining), but things are starting to heat up! Within 24 hours, Tropical Storm Bonnie and Tropical Strom Colin have formed. Bonnie formed late Friday morning.
Tropical Storm Colin formed off the South Carolina coast early Saturday morning. The center of the system is actually overland, just to the northeast of Charleston. The warm ocean water is fueling it and has allowed it to organize into a tropical storm as it hovers along the coast.
As of 5 am Saturday, Colin is a weak tropical storm with winds of 40 mph and wind gusts of 50 mph. It is moving to the northeast at 8 mph. Colin is expected to hug the east coast and remain a weak tropical storm through this 4th of July weekend before moving offshore Monday. Wind shear will increase by that time and the storm will fall apart.
Northern South Carolina and North Carolina coastal communities are under a tropical storm warning. For the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry, we are not expecting any DIRECT impacts. However, Colin is giving us a moderate risk of rip currents and an increase in tropical moisture. Expect scattered showers and storms this weekend, especially throughout the afternoon.
2021 HURRICANE SEASON
Before yesterday, Tropical Storm Alex was the only storm to form this season so far and it has almost been a month since it formed. Tropical storm Bonnie will pass through Central America before pushing into the Pacific Ocean.
By this time during the 2020 & 2021 hurricane seasons, we already had 4 named storms and Hurricane Elsa was starting to form last year. Don’t let this lack of formation in the season fool you – NOAA still expects an above-average season with 14-21 named storms, 6-10 hurricanes, and 3-6 major hurricanes.