Tropical Storm Warning For SE Coast Heads Up OCMD Memorial Day

May 27 2016 – Tropical Depression Two sitting over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream is posed to develop into a tropical storm in the next 24 hours. This means organized winds over 40 mph, but not necessarily a large system. It will organize the rain, and increase the waves for east coast beaches through the Memorial Day weekend. The storm may be short lived as it should reach South Carolina and then wander up the coast as a tropical depression. What is of interest here are two things: 1) The increased chance for rain and thunderstorms for our region Sunday. 2) The possibility that this storm center passes just off of Ocean City on Memorial Day. If so, Monday could be rainy across the Chesapeake and beaches. It might seem premature to plan an early departure from the beach, but it is something to consider strongly now.

Here are a quick look at the National Hurricane Center Maps and model projection. When named, this storm will be called Bonnie. It is the second of 2016 in the Atlantic. Hurricane Alex was first named in January over open water.

Update from NHC:

SUMMARY OF 500 PM EDT...2100 UTC...INFORMATION
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LOCATION...28.5N 74.7W
ABOUT 435 MI SE OF CHARLESTON SOUTH CAROLINA
ABOUT 440 MI SE OF HILTON HEAD ISLAND SOUTH CAROLINA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...35 MPH
PRESENT MOVEMENT...WNW OR 300 DEGREES AT 13 MPH
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1009 MB...29.80 INCHES

Forecast Wind Speed

Computer Model Forecast Track Spread

GFS Forecast Model

This shows the storm off of the coast of Ocean City on Monday afternoon. See the wide vie slider/timeline below