New Tropical Storm To Bring Flood Risks To Coastal GA: Forecasters

GEORGIA — Though a new tropical storm is expected to shy away from the Southeast, forecasters said it could still bring flood risks and other impacts to coastal Georgia.

AccuWeather said it has been monitoring the fresh system, which was situated in the northwestern Caribbean Sea near the Atlantic Ocean.

The storm could potentially impact the Caribbean islands with flooding rainfall, mudslides and power outages sometime later this week.

But what does that mean for the Southeast?

Due to high pressure, the storm could be moved away from the Southeast but it will activate hazardous conditions along the coast and Atlantic beaches, AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Flooding Expert Alex Sosnowski said in a news release. Impacts could begin Wednesday through Tuesday.

“This area of high pressure is providing Florida with protection from tropical systems brewing to the south, but it’s also creating hazards along the coast in the Southeast,” Sosnowski said in the release. “This area of high pressure over the East Coast is strengthening. That clockwise circulation is going to create an easterly flow that could last for a week or longer for locations to its south. These persistent onshore winds will push ocean waters toward the Atlantic coast. Some areas will be dealing with above-normal tide, coastal flooding at high tide, and significant beach erosion. This push of wind and water against the east coast of Florida will make it tough for these swollen rivers to recede.”

In coastal Georgia, there may be risks of rough surf, rip currents, coastal flooding and beach erosion. These hazards are anticipated to stretch from the Florida Keys and along the Atlantic coast.

The National Weather Service on Tuesday afternoon predicted sunny days and clear skies each night in the Savannah area through early next week.

Though frosty conditions were forecasted this week in metro Atlanta, no severe weather was predicted for the area.

However, Florida may face more storm impacts after Hurricane Milton ravaged the Sunshine State and killed at least 12 people, Sosnowski said.

“This is a slow-moving disaster in Florida," Sosnowski said in the release. "The torrential rainfall and wind from Hurricane Milton are long gone. Now, we’re dealing with 1 to 2 feet of rainfall working its way down the river systems. We’ve seen rivers in major flood stage and new records shattered over the past few days. The St. Johns River is a very slow-moving river that flows north. It just hit record levels over the weekend. We’re not out of the woods yet. Some places will be dealing with river flooding issues for weeks.”

The next hurricane name this season is Nadine.