Erika's Moisture Arrives, Triggers Downpours in Southeast US

By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather.com Senior Meteorologist

September 2,2015; 11:07PM,EDT

 

 

The combination of moisture from Erika and a non-tropical system will drench areas from Florida to the South Carolina coast through the middle of the week.
The leftover center of Erika was moving across southeastern Georgia during Wednesday evening.

According to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski, "Erika's moisture will produce spotty flooding over the coastal sections of the southeastern United States as it drifts northeastward."
The downpours and locally gusty winds produced from Erika's moisture will mostly affect areas from the eastern part of the Florida Panhandle to northeastern Florida, southeastern Georgia and part of the South Carolina coast into Wednesday night.
The bulk of the storms will occur into the evening hours.
People in these areas should expect localized flooding downpours, gusty storms and the potential for waterspouts.

Spotty drenching thunderstorms can also erupt farther south over the Florida Peninsula.
A few locations may receive up to 2 inches of rain through Wednesday night.
In addition to the downpours and locally gusty winds, seas and surf can get rough in the vicinity of the strong thunderstorms. As a result, bathers and boaters will need to keep an eye out for rapidly changing weather conditions.
The bulk of the moisture will be pulled northeastward away from the Southeastern states later this week as a non-tropical low pressure area drifts out to sea.
The weather should improve from Florida to the Carolinas before the Labor Day weekend. However, there is the potential for showers and thunderstorms to flare up from time to time as some moisture will remain.
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Very warm and mainly rain-free conditions continue in the Northeast. An area of high pressure will block much of the remaining moisture from moving northward.
Erika was shredded while trying to cross the large mountainous islands of Hispaniola and Cuba late last week and into Saturday, following significant damage and loss of life in the Caribbean.
According to AccuWeather Hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski, Erika was downgraded to a tropical rainstorm over the past weekend.
"There is a remote chance a non-tropical storm system near the Carolina coast may develop and take on tropical characteristics in the vicinity of Bermuda late this week or this weekend," Kottlowski said.
Fred, near Africa, will move across the open waters of the Atlantic as the week progresses. Fred is not expected to threaten the U.S.
Additional disturbances moving westward from the coast of Africa will be monitored for development well into September.