Invest 92 L

Tropical Storm Andrea, the first named storm of the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season, made landfall around 5 p.m. EDT Thursday near Horseshoe Beach along the Big Bend of Florida.

Andrea continues to move northeastward this morning through eastern South Carolina. The strongest winds, which weakened considerably since landfall, are located on its southeast side. It looks like tropical storm-force sustained winds and gusts will be mainly over the water and at the immediate coast in South Carolina and will spread to the coast of southern North Carolina this morning.

There remains a possibility for isolated severe weather today, including tornadoes, northeast of the storm track near the coast of North Carolina into southeastern Virginia. There were several reports of (mainly short-lived) tornadoes that have taken down trees and power lines, including one report only 3 miles west-southwest of St. Petersburg, Fla.


The rainfall amounts of 2-4 inches today through tonight will be across the eastern Carolinas and eastern Virginia, then northeastward into southern New England with 1- to 2-inch rainfall amounts as far north as Maine.

Elsewhere, a tropical wave along 70 west has become less defined and is expected to continue to weaken. Another tropical wave between 45 and 50 west has some organization with a weak surface low and some signs of rotation. However, as this wave advances farther to the west and northwest, it will encounter stronger shear, causing the system to become less organized over the next day or two. The wave is expected to bring an increase in showers and gusty winds to the Leeward Islands and across the northern Caribbean Sunday into Monday.