Tropical Storm Imelda Forms on Its Way to Becoming Hurricane

Tropical Storm Imelda formed Sunday and is expected to become a hurricane on a forecast track that could take it away from the East Coast early this week. The storm was causing disruption in the Bahamas and Cuba on Sunday, and a tropical storm watch was posted in parts of Florida, the AP reports. Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto weakened slightly but remained a strong Category 4 storm in the Atlantic, threatening Bermuda.

Around 2pm EDT, Imelda was about 95 miles west-northwest of the Central Bahamas and about 370 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It was headed north at 7mph with maximum sustained winds of 40mph. The center said the system was expected to move across the central and northwestern Bahamas on Sunday and Sunday night and turn east-northeast, away from the southeastern US, by the middle of the week. A tropical storm watch was in effect for the east coast of Florida from the Palm Beach-Martin County line to the Flagler-Volusia County line, the center said, urging residents along the southeast US coast to monitor the system. A tropical storm watch means tropical storm conditions are possible within 48 hours.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster urged people to stay alert, though coastal Georgetown County said it was returning to normal operations with an improved forecast for the area. In North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency before Tropical Storm Imelda formed. "What we learn every time is we never know where they are going to go," McMaster said during a news conference. "This storm is deadly serious. Not just serious. Deadly serious."