News Column

Tropical Storm Could Spoil SC Beach Holidays

May 25, 2012

Joey Holleman

Tropical storm Beryl might spoil Memorial Day weekend beach trips in South Carolina.

"Might" is the key word. A low pressure system off Florida has the potential to gather into a weak tropical storm this weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The official chance at 10 a.m. Friday was 70 percent that the system will be the second named storm of the season -- Beryl.

The track of the potential Beryl is even more iffy, but the best guess is that the center would come ashore in north Florida or Georgia on Sunday with a small core of 35-45 mph winds, according Mark Malsick, severe weather liaison with South Carolina's State Climate Office.

Conditions aren't conducive to major intensification, Malsick said.

For South Carolina's beaches, the storm likely will bring larger-than-normal waves, getting rougher Sunday and Monday, according to surf forecasts. The Beaufort-Hilton Head area could get 25 mph gusts, with Sunday likely the worst day for wind.

Rainfall isn't expected to be heavy in South Carolina. The National Weather Service forecast calls for only a slight chance of rain Saturday, building to a 50 percent chance Saturday night and Sunday. The farther north on the coast, the less the chance of rain and the later in the weekend it's expected to arrive.

Midlands residents considering a trip to the coast might want to find something to do closer to home. The National Weather Service forecast for Columbia is for sunny skies and high temperatures in the 90s Saturday and Sunday with a chance of rain on Monday.



Source: (c) 2012 The State (Columbia, S.C.)


Story Tools