HOUSTON – The center of Subtropical Storm Ana was located about 180 miles south southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Friday morning.
While not moving much now, Ana is forecast to move slowly north-northwest Friday and Saturday, and is expected to make landfall Sunday morning along the South Carolina or southern North Carolina coast.
Ana has winds around 45 mph and is not expected to intensify much more, if at all. The storm is surrounded by rather dry air, which inhibits thunderstorm development that is needed to strengthen a storm. Also, it will be crossing colder water on Saturday and Sunday. There is an outside chance that Ana could transform from a subtropical storm to a tropical storm while the center is over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream on Friday.
Regardless of whether Ana is subtropical or tropical, the impacts are expected to be about the same. Winds gusting to 55 mph are possible and high waves with some beach erosion can be expected on the immediate coast. Because of the drier air, rainfall will be less than normally expected from a slow-moving tropical system with 3-5 inches being the most forecast.