Tropical Storm Earl is one to watch in Charleston (update: still shifting west)

Update August 28: A minor update, but the cone of uncertainty continues to inch west with the latest forecast (24 hours after the first reporting here) puts the storm about 2 degrees more west on Wednesday at 8 a.m. 

Also the National Weather Service writes that, "The official forecast and the guidance envelope have shifted a little bit southward and westward. Nevertheless the expected steering pattern still favors a gradual turn to the west-northwest during the next day or two."

See the latest map here.

First reporting August 27:

While the strong Hurricane Danielle continues to dominate headlines, it's expected to swing fairly for east of Bermuda and out of our scope of concern in Charleston.

But the developing Tropical Storm Earl is the real one to keep an eye on (and the first one we've really had to watch in the Lowcountry for some time.)

It's projected "cone of uncertainty" has continued to move west over the last 24 hours and things really depend on how weather conditions shape up over the weekend and how strong currents and winds are once Earl reaches the Leeward Islands east of Cuba.

For now the bowling ball of Earl would appear to be set to roll between the pins on Bermuda and North Carolina's Outer Banks, but a lot of variables remain to gel on the storm expected to be a hurricane by Sunday.

So bookmark the National Hurricane Center's page on Earl and keep an eye on our hurricane topic page.

And maybe now's a good time to prep your house.

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