With Tropical Storm Arthur moving away from the Mid Atlantic coast, the National Hurricane Center has dropped all Tropical Storm Warnings that were in effect for North Carolina. As of 5pm ET, the center of Tropical Storm Arthur was located near latitude 36.1 North, longitude 73.9 West. Arthur is moving toward the northeast near 16 mph. According to the National Hurricane Center, a turn toward the east-northeast is expected tonight, followed by a turn toward the east on Tuesday. A slower southeast or south-southeast motion is expected to begin Tuesday night and continue through Wednesday. On the forecast track, the center of Arthur will continue to move away from the east coast of the United States, approach Bermuda, and recurve closer to the United States again albeit in a weakened form.
Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph with higher gusts. While some strengthening is forecast by the National Hurricane Center during the next 24 hours, Arthur is likely to lose its tropical characteristics late by tonight or Tuesday. Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 115 miles. The estimated minimum central pressure is 993 mb or 29.33 inches. The only Atlantic named storms with lower pressure in May in the past 40 years are 2012’s Beryl and 2018’s Alberto.
While the storm is moving away from the Mid Atlantic coast, there are still hazards impacting the U.S.. Swells generated by Arthur are expected to affect portions of the mid-Atlantic and southeast U.S. coasts during the next day or two; these swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions. People heading to beaches that may be open during the pandemic should exercise extreme caution due to these hazards around the water.
