By FREIDA FRISARO Associated Press
MIAMI (AP) — Crews spent Saturday making preparations for an unnamed weather system that is forecast to become Tropical Storm Imelda late Saturday or early Sunday before approaching the coast of South Carolina as a hurricane early next week.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto grew into a strong Category 5 storm in the Atlantic and threatened the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Bermuda.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster urged residents on Saturday afternoon to closely monitor the weather and stay alert as potential bad weather approaches the state.
Also on Saturday, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency in advance of the system that is being identified by the National Hurricane Center in Miami as Tropical Depression Nine. A year ago Saturday, Hurricane Helene devastated parts of South Carolina and North Carolina
Forecasters said the system is on track to become a tropical storm late Saturday or early Sunday. It would be named Imelda. At 5 p.m. EST, the system was located about 105 miles (170 kilometers) south southwest of the Central Bahamas. It was moving at 5 mph (7 kph).
“What we learn every time is we never know where they are going to go,” McMaster said during a Saturday afternoon news conference to discuss the storm. “This storm is deadly serious. Not just serious. Deadly serious.”
The storm could bring high winds and heavy rain, which could produce flooding, he said. The state was prepositioning search and rescue crews over the weekend.
Hurricane Humberto grows stronger
Meantime, Hurricane Humberto strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane on Saturday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory. The storm was located about 350 miles (560 kilometers) northeast of the northern Leeward Islands. It was moving west at 10 mph (17 kph).
Humberto could produce life-threatening surf and rip currents for the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Bermuda over the weekend, forecasters said.
The National Weather Service in Puerto Rico issued a small craft advisory, urging people to stay ashore and avoid unnecessary trips, with Saturday’s swells from Humberto expected to reach about 7 feet (2 meters) in Atlantic waters. They also advised residents to heed the beach warning flag system because of the high risk of rip currents.
The unnamed system was threatening parts of the Bahamas and Cuba with heavy rainfall and flash flooding on Saturday, with portions of the Bahamas under a tropical storm warning. More warnings and watches were expected on Saturday night and Sunday, the hurricane center said.
The Bahamas’ Department of Meteorology on Saturday urged residents in the northwest and central islands, which include Nassau, Andros Island, San Salvador and Long Island, to “make final preparations” for tropical storm conditions to begin at night. The agency said it expects the center of the system to move across that region throughout Sunday.
A statement from the department said air force hurricane hunters had been deployed to investigate the system. Maximum sustained winds on Saturday were about 35 mph (55 kmph).
The department expected rainfall in the central and southeast Bahamas to reach between 4 inches and 8 inches, with some isolated areas seeing up to 10 inches.
“Residents in low-lying areas should take actions to mitigate property damages due to flooding,” the department warned in the statement.
Florida officials keep an eye on storm
A tropical storm is expected by Sunday as the system runs parallel offshore of Florida’s Atlantic coastline.
Officials across South Florida, which has been saturated by rain throughout September, continued keeping an eye on the system. A tropical storm watch was issued Saturday for parts of the Florida coastline north of West Palm Beach to an area north of Daytona Beach.
In Homestead, Florida, which was devastated by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Emergency Manager Jaime Hernandez worried about complacency among residents.
“Too many South Floridians who may have experienced limited impacts from storms that came close in recent years, such as Hurricane Irma in 2017, have come away from these events mistakenly believing they have ‘been through the big one,’ ” Hernandez said.
He notes that Homestead is one of only four communities in the continental U.S. to experience the catastrophic impacts of a Category 5 hurricane. “We know all too well the importance of having an emergency plan and remaining informed,” Hernandez said.
The tropical disturbance brought heavy rains in the Dominican Republic on Friday, leading authorities to evacuate hundreds of people and declare a red alert in five provinces.
Flooding in the southwestern province of Azua displaced at least 774 people, and 26 were being sheltered due to the overflowing of the Tábara River, Civil Defense spokesman Jensen Sánchez told The Associated Press.
In the eastern Atlantic, the center of post-tropical cyclone Gabrielle moved away from the Azores. A hurricane warning for the entire Portuguese archipelago was discontinued.
Gabrielle was expected to approach Portugal’s coast by early Sunday. Swells expected to produce life-threatening surf and rip currents were expected to reach Portugal, northwestern Spain and northern Morocco on Saturday.
Hurricane in the Pacific Ocean
In the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Narda was churning about 1,025 miles (1,650 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California and heading west-northwest at 12 mph (19 kph). The Category 1 storm was expected to maintain its strength on Friday before weakening over the weekend.
Swells generated by Narda were affecting coastal Mexico and Baja California Sur, forecasters said. The swells that could bring life-threatening surf and rip current conditions were expected to reach Southern California over the weekend.
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Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano reported from Caracas, Venezuela.