Published Aug. 3, 2020 1:57 PM | Updated Aug. 3, 2020 4:37 PM
After narrowly missing Florida, the looming Isaias threat is far from over as the tropical storm focuses its track along the East coast. By Monday afternoon, the storm was running parallel to the Georgia coast. The ninth-named storm of the busy 2020 hurricane season is expected to strike the Carolinas directly.
Despite staying at tropical storm strength through the weekend after previously reaching hurricane status, forecasters say there is still a chance for Isaias to bulk up to Category 1 strength again ahead of making landfall in South Carolina late Monday night.
With its sights set on landing between Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, Isaias ignited a state of emergency in North Carolina and spurred residents to make plans for possible evacuations or sheltering needs.
Outer rainbands from Isaias reached the South Carolina coast as the storm swirled off the Georgia coast early Monday, Aug. 3, 2020. (AccuWeather)
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper urged people on Twitter to heed the state warnings in order to stay safe from not only the hurricane but also the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s essential to listen to local officials and follow evacuation orders when they are issued,” Cooper said. “During the pandemic, your home has been the safest place, but that may change as Isaias arrives. The most important thing is to get out of harm’s way if you are told to evacuate.”
In its Monday advisory, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a hurricane warning from South Santee River, South Carolina, to Surf City, North Carolina, while reporting that the storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 70 mph. The storm was moving north at 13 mph.
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster has yet to order evacuations and said last week that he has no intention to do so. He added that the state has been planning for the dangerous pandemic-hurricane duo “all along and we’ll have to be careful.”
On Ocracoke Island in North Carolina, however, those evacuation mandates came on Friday. Officials in Hyde County, the area that was hit particularly hard by Hurricane Dorian last year, ordered residents to evacuate on Saturday.
Mandatory evacuations were enacted for nearby Hatteras Island in Dare County as well. The national parks in the area, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore and the Wright Brothers National Memorial, were both closed on Monday ahead of the storm's impacts.
Whether Isaias restrengthens into a hurricane or not, it is still forecast to be a 1 on the AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes due to the projected flooding downpours and possibly damaging winds.
To prepare for those potential floods, cities throughout the East Coast have offered free sandbags to residents. In Charleston, South Carolina, a limit of 10 bags per car was applied to residents.
On Monday morning, Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg issued an emergency ordinance to close certain streets for flooding safety precautions and to set curfews if needed.
“An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 10 inches is possible, especially in the higher terrain. This amount of rainfall can lead to flash flooding across the region,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Maura Kelly said. “In addition to the rain, storm surge of 3-6 feet expected to the east of where Isaias makes landfall, in particular over the Outer Banks, could cause coastal flooding. A total of 1-3 feet of inundation is expected elsewhere in the Southeast.”
Farther south, the Georgia Department of Transportation began closing coastal bridges on Monday morning in preparation for the strong winds. The Department of Health also announced that COVID-19 testing would be suspended in the Coastal Health District on Monday "due to the potential for wind and rain associated with Tropical Storm Isaias."
Preparation efforts have extended far beyond the Southeast coast as well, as officials in Baltimore made sandbags available, encouraged residents to move their cars off the street and requested for homeowners to clear storm drains to help with the water runoff.
Tropical storm warnings extended as far north as Long Island on Monday, with tropical storm watches in effect through the central Maine coast. (AccuWeather)
In New Jersey, coastal towns and cities have begun preparing for the wind and rain impacts which could arrive on Tuesday. Boaters in the Garden State, along with boaters from New York and Connecticut, were urged by the Coast Guard to prepare for possible high surf, heavy wind and coastal flooding.
A tropical storm warning was also enacted for New York City, which could endure its second storm of the season following Tropical Storm Fay in early July. According to AccuWeather Meteorologist Brandon Buckingham, this would mark the first time since 1985 that the state endured two named storms so close in the same season. Projections on Monday showed that Isaias could pass within 30 miles of New York City after Fay came within 15 miles of the Big Apple in July.
AccuWeather founder and CEO Joel N. Myers said Isaias could cause between $2 billion and $3 billion in damage and economic loss as the storm charges up the Eastern Seaboard.
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Projections for Isaias have fluctuated in recent days as the storm weakened to a tropical storm on Saturday afternoon near the coast of Florida. However, in the days prior, its impacts were certainly felt through the Bahamas and Puerto Rico.
The National Guard rescued at least 35 people who were swept away in floodwaters in Puerto Rico, harkening memories of Hurricane Maria in 2017.
At least two deaths were blamed on Isaias' impacts in the Dominican Republic, Reuters reported. Civil Defense officials said 53-year-old Chiche Peguero was killed by a high-voltage power line that fell in Río San Juan. On Thursday, a 5-year-old boy was also killed after a tree crushed his home, according to elCaribe, a local news organization.
There were no fatalities from Isaias in the Bahamas, a much-appreciated relief for the island that is still recovering from Dorian last summer. However, heavy flooding and 70-mph winds did leave most of the island’s residents, many of whom are also without power, a lot to clean up. Adrian Gibson, a local government official, posted on Facebook and noted the extensive damage suffered by farmers and the severe hit some crops took from Isaias.
Isaias, packing winds only 4 mph shy of hurricane intensity, churned along the southeastern coast of the U.S. on Monday, Aug. 3, 2020.
AccuWeather users can track Isaias from home using our local hurricane tracker pages that provide detailed information about a specific location. Click on the city name to track how Isaias will impact each place as it churns northward: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; Hilton Head, South Carolina; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Ocean City, New Jersey; New York City; and Boston, Massachusetts.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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