NEW JERSEY- Tropical Storm Elsa is moving through the Carolinas following its Florida landfall and it is expected to bring plenty of rain, strong winds and the threat of tornados up the east coast.
According to The Weather Channel, tropical storm warnings reach north of sections of New England. Currently, the storm is moving across the Southeast after making landfall Wednesday morning near Steinhatchee, Florida approximately 75 miles southeast of Tallahassee, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Elsa is about 80 miles southwest of Raleigh, North Carolina and wind measurements of 40 miles per hour with gusts of up to 58 were reported Thursday morning. Tropical storm warnings range from South Carolina to Massachusetts. Winds of 39 plus miles per hour will extend along much of the East Coast through Friday. Elsa could strengthen as it moves closer to the East Coast.
The storm will track through the Southeast from North Carolina to southeast Virginia according to The Weather Channel through Thursday evening and through the Northeast on Friday.
Elsa is expected to provide wind, rain, flooding and tornado threats along the east and south of the track of its center. Rainfall could produce from two to four inches with isolated totals of up to inches, across central and easter North Carolina into southeastern Virginia.
NOAA reports the tropical storm could also move into the mid-Atlantic into New England. Those areas impacted might see some localized flash flooding from the heavy rainfall expected. Isolated river flooding is another strong possibility.
Elsa may bring strong wind gusts to the northeast by Friday particularly near coastal areas. Such wind gusts could break tree limbs, down trees and cause some scattered power outages. There is also the chance that tornados could spread into the Eastern Carolinas and southeast Virginia today.
Elsa began as a tropical depression five on Wednesday night when it was around 1,000 miles east of the Windward Island but it became a tropical storm six hours later on July 1.
Monmouth and Ocean counties may feel its impact by tomorrow morning. Elsa is a new name to the list of rotating names that are being used during this Hurricane/Storm season. Erika was the “E” storm used in 2015 and was retired ater it caused deadly and destructive flood in the Caribbean Island of Dominica. Elsa has replaced it according to The Weather Channel.
