By the 11 p.m. update, Ernesto has shifted a bit to the east, making it more likely that the storm will make landfall further north on the South Carolina coast, between Georgetown and Myrtle Beach, according to Steven Taylor of the National Weather Service in Charleston.
The storm is expected to gain speed and strength tonight.
"It's already very close to tropical storm strength again," Taylor said. Trends in the next six hours will dictate how much strength develops in the storm, he said
According to the National Hurricane Center, the depression is moving north, away from the coast of Florida, near 14 mph. Ernesto is expected to turn toward the north-northeast and gain speed, bringing the center near the Palmetto State's coast late Thursday or Thursday night.
A tropical storm warning was discontinued along the Florida coast south of Cocoa Beach. North of Cocoa and up to Cape Lookout, N.C., the warning remains in effect.
At 11 p.m., the broad center of Ernesto was near Latitude 28.7 north and Longitude 80.6 west. It is north of Cape Canaveral, Fla., and about 360 miles south-southwest of Myrtle Beach. Sustained winds are near 35 mph, and that's expected to pick up as the storm passes over the ocean.
Coastal storm surge flooding of three to five feet above normal tide levels is possible along the South and North Carolina coasts.
I've been watching the radar and it looks like the first real heavy band of rain is 45 to 90 minutes out, and may arrive sooner in some places.
Posted by: Jared Smith | 30 August 2006 at 23:35