Chantal Rapidly Weakening After Early Morning Landfall

Tropical Storm Chantal made landfall near Huntington Beach in northeastern South Carolina this morning. Now a tropical depression, it will continue to weaken rapidly as it moves over the Carolinas.

As of 11 a.m. EDT, Tropical Depression Chantal was located near 34.4 N and 79.2 W, about 20 miles northwest of Lumberton, N.C., or 80 miles west of Wilmington, N.C. Chantal is packing top sustained winds of 35 mph and is moving north at 9 mph. It has a minimum central pressure of 1007 mb, or 29.74 inches of mercury.

Tropical Depression Chantal will track to north today and will eventually make a turn to the north-northeast tonight into early Monday morning. Chantal will continue to weaken over the next 24 hours, likely becoming a remnant low pressure system tonight. It would then dissipate completely by Monday afternoon.

Despite weakening, Chantal will bring heavy rainfall and gusty winds across parts of the Carolinas into the Mid-Atlantic. Rain amounts of 2 to 4 inches with locally 6 inches are possible near the coast. An elevated risk for flash flooding will continue into Monday. Some leftover rain could occur in eastern Virginia into southern Maryland and Delaware on Monday. Rain amounts will generally be less than an inch.

Wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph will occur along the South Carolina and southeastern North Carolina coasts. Isolated tornadoes and waterspouts cannot be ruled out throughout the day today. Life-threatening rip currents will be possible over portions of the East Coast from northeastern Florida to the Mid-Atlantic states today and Monday. 

It is time to prepare for the hurricane season. Create a hurricane evacuation box now, before the storm, with bottled water, extra cell phone chargers, food and clothing. Scope out multiple different evacuation routes in case your preferred route is blocked or traffic jammed.