Waters near South Carolina see first tropical storm of the season (update, waves)

Update July 19: As expected Tropical Storm Bret continues to not offer much of threat to the South Carolina coast and seems set on a path to take it between the Atlantic Coast and Bermuda (map below.)

Nor is the storm expected to strengthen, being given just a 5% chance or reaching hurricane strength. Still the storm is expected to remain at tropical storm strength for the next couple of days.

But if your eye is on the waves, now's the time to go. We're expected to get a modest 1-2 foot bump in waves from Bret, but in the several days after that we should be seeing modest waves once again. 

First reporting July 18: While Tropical Storm Bret is the second storm of the eastern hurricane season, it's the first one of note for us in the Carolinas.

The first storm (Arlene) meandered into the Mexico coast

While its location off the coast of Florida puts it well within striking distance of Beaufort, Bret is expected to instead meander to the east (map below). Nor is the stream expected to rapidly strengthen, most likely remaining a tropical storm with a 20% chance of becoming a hurricane by Wednesday.

But none of this is too shocking, as it's generally not until after August 1 that mature hurricanes begin to form; still, this season is forecast to be busy.

We'll be sure to keep you posted with how Bret evolves.

322

Filed in