2 Offshore Hurricanes Bring Dangerous Beach Conditions To VA

Hurricane Imelda strengthened into a Category 1 storm on Tuesday morning as Hurricane Humberto continued to move north through the Atlantic Ocean. Both storms are expected to bring rough surf and dangerous beach conditions to much of the East Coast, including Virginia, according to the latest forecasts.

As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, Hurricane Imelda was located about 100 miles north of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas and was moving northeast at about 7 mph. The storm, which had maximum sustained winds of about 75 mph, is predicted to strengthen in the next 48 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center.

While Imelda and Humberto are not expected to hit the United States directly, parts of the East Coast will see some impacts from the storms, according to forecasters.

Storm surge of 1-3 feet is forecast from the northern Bahamas to southeastern Virginia, with the greatest risk of flooding along the coasts of South Carolina and North Carolina, including Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Wilmington and Cape Hatteras.

Massive offshore swells from both Imelda and Humberto will generate strong rip currents and beach erosion along the Atlantic coast, including Virginia's Eastern Shore and the Hampton Roads area.

Imelda will continue moving northeast on Tuesday before eventually turning east-northeast later in the day. The center of the system is expected to move away from the Bahamas on Tuesday and quickly approach Bermuda by late Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto continued to churn north-northwest through the Atlantic Ocean on Tuesday. As of 11 a.m., the storm was located about 300 miles west of Bermuda and had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.

"A turn to the north and north-northeast is expected today, followed by a much faster east-northeast motion on Wednesday and Thursday," NHC forecasters said. "On the forecast track, the center of Humberto will pass west of and then north of Bermuda today and Wednesday."

Humberto peaked as a Category 5 hurricane with 160-mph winds on Saturday and has since lost some wind intensity, forecasters said. Humberto will continue to lose some wind intensity as it approaches Bermuda.

In their Tuesday morning forecast, AccuWeather meteorologists said Imelda will be pulled away from the United States due to the Fujiwhara Effect, a rare phenomenon caused by the storm's close proximity to Humberto.

The Fujiwhara Effect happens “when two hurricanes spinning in the same direction pass close enough to each other, they begin an intense dance around their common center,” according to the National Weather Service. “If one hurricane is a lot stronger than the other, the smaller one will orbit it and eventually come crashing into its vortex to be absorbed.”

"The Fujiwhara Effect appears to have started. Imelda and Humberto are roughly 500 miles apart, which is well within the threshold of 850 miles for the rare interaction to happen," AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said in a news release.

In other weather news, Northern Virginia residents are in for a fantastic start to October once showers and clouds move out of the state on Tuesday.

Sunshine rules on Wednesday, according to The Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang. Temperatures will be cooler, with highs around 70 degrees on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Conditions will warm this weekend, with temperatures in the mid- to upper 70s.

Here's a look at the detailed NWS forecast for Northern Virginia:

Tuesday: Cloudy, with a high near 79. North wind 8 to 10 mph.

Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. North wind 9 to 11 mph.

Wednesday: Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 72. Northeast wind 11 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.

Wednesday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 53. Northeast wind around 9 mph.

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 70. East wind around 10 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 53.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 72.

Friday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 54.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 76.