US braces for storm expected to hit the east coast as Hurricane Imelda in coming days

MIAMI (AP) — A weather system that is forecast to become Tropical Storm Imelda later in the day before approaching the coast of South Carolina as a hurricane early next week was causing disruption in the Bahamas and nearby islands on Sunday.

Meanwhile Hurricane Humberto weakened very slightly but remained a strong Category 4 storm in the Atlantic, threatening Bermuda.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster urged people to monitor the weather closely and stay alert. And in North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency in advance of the system, currently called Tropical Depression Nine.

Forecasters said the system was on track to become a tropical storm later Sunday and a hurricane by late Monday or Tuesday. It would be named Imelda.

As of 0900 GMT Sunday, the system was located about 100 miles (160 kilometers) west-southwest of the Central Bahamas and was headed north-northwest at 7 mph (11 kph). Its maximum sustained winds were 35 mph (55 kph).

“What we learn every time is we never know where they are going to go,” McMaster said during a 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 weakens slightly but still major storm

Humberto had maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (250 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, making it a Category 4 hurricane. It was located about 585 miles (945 kilometers) south of Bermuda and was moving west-northwest at 13 mph (20 kph).

A tropical storm watch could be required in Bermuda later in the day, forecasters said, and swells could reach the U.S. east coast on Monday.

Tropical Depression Nine was threatening parts of Cuba and the Bahamas with heavy rainfall and flash flooding, with portions of the latter under a tropical storm warning. More warnings and watches were expected later Sunday, the hurricane center said.

The Bahamas’ Department of Meteorology urged people in the northwest and central islands, which include Nassau, Andros Island, San Salvador and Long Island, to “make final preparations” for tropical storm conditions. The agency said it expected the center of the system to move across that region throughout Sunday.

“Residents in low-lying areas should take actions to mitigate property damages due to flooding,” it said in the statement.

The tropical disturbance brought heavy rains to the Dominican Republic on Friday, leading authorities to evacuate hundreds of people and declare a red alert in five provinces.

In the Pacific

Tropical Storm Narda, formerly a hurricane, is about 1,045 miles (1,680 kilometers) west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula and is heading north at 5 mph (7 kph). Maximum sustained winds are 60 mph (95 kph).

Swells generated by Narda are affecting coastal Mexico and Baja California Sur, forecasters said, and life-threatening surf and rip current conditions are possible in Southern California.

___

Associated Press writer Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela, contributed.