Tropical storm Imelda is intensifying and is expected to move along the southeast coast by Tuesday, kicking dangerous surfing from Florida through Carolinas, tearing electric currents, coastal flooding and beach erosion.
Meanwhile, a rare Category 5 storm with a 160 mph wind breakout on Saturday, Hurricane Humberto is now a Category 3 hurricane. Humberto is a few hundred miles east of Imelda, and its huge size this week will complicate the harms of American beaches, with large waves and large waves along the east coast north of the north coast further north than Imelda alone.
Imelda's center is expected to remain in good shape along the coast of the United States – a significant change in forecasts starting at the weekend – but its widespread storm will still bring wet weather to some. By Tuesday, local flash flooding in coastal Carolina may occur, but the total forecast rainfall has been significantly reduced to most areas.
Coastal flooding can also be performed from the Florida space coast to the outer river bank of North Carolina, where overland winds can push water to a normal dry ground at climax of 1 to 2 feet.
On Monday afternoon, the Bahamas endured winds, heavy rains and storm surges from Imelda on the weekend before the storm began moving.
As of Monday night, winds in Imelda were 65 mph, centered about 200 miles east of Cape Canaveral, Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm is expected to join the hurricane earlier Tuesday as it parallels Florida's Atlantic coast before suddenly turning it eastward into open water.
The turn is thanks to Humberto: Imelda is slower than northbound, which means Humberto will win the tropical tug-of-war and pull Imelda away from the shoreline. This expected interaction between the two storms is a major cause of flooding and destructive winds in the United States compared to the concerns over the weekend.
Southeast officials are ready to deal with the storm, and the predictions look more threatening. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster issued a state of emergency Friday, activated a state of response plan, but canceled it on Monday. Charleston, South Carolina, announced a local emergency on Saturday and began distributing sofa bags and cleaning up rainwater. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein also issued a state of emergency Saturday to mobilize resources.
Bermuda will get the short end of the stick from this transition in the Imelda track and face a rare punch or two. Humberto is expected to cross the west of the island in a major hurricane Tuesday and bring rain, gusts and dangerous surfing bands.
Following Humberto, Imelda dates back to closer to Bermuda and has the potential to land directly from Wednesday to Thursday. During that time, hurricanes could pour up up to 4 inches of rain in Bermuda. The Bermuda Meteorological Agency released a hurricane view for the archipelago Monday afternoon before Imelda.
Two hurricanes in a week could also bring punitive blows to experienced storm-tested islands.
So far this year, the United States has avoided direct hurricane landings. Tropical Storm Chantal landed in South Carolina in July this year, but no storms hit the coastal areas of hurricanes in 2025. If this streak is established, it will be the first season without the hurricanes landing within a decade.
Still, the season is outstanding in another way: Every hurricane so far – Erin, Gabriel and Humberto – has achieved significant strength, a feat that has not been seen since the beginning of 1935. Large hurricanes are storms of 3, 4 and 5. In recent years, rapid strengthening has become increasingly common due to the warmth of fossil fuel pollution.