South Floridians breathed a collective sigh of relief on Sunday as Tropical Storm Isaias made a minimal impact as it traveled up the state's east coast.
Once a hurricane, Isaias weakened into a tropical storm as it made landfall over the Bahamas on Saturday. And while the storm brought heavy rain, wind and storm surge to the Sunshine State, it never officially made landfall.
Scripps station WPTV in Palm Beach reports that Tropical Storm Isaias caused some power outages in the area and caused rip tides off area beaches, but spared the region of major damage.
Now, Isaias has its sights set on the Carolinas. In a 5 a.m. update on Monday, the National Hurricane Center said that the storm is expected to regain hurricane strength before reaching the Carolina coast early Tuesday morning. The agency said coastal areas near the North and South Carolina border could see "life-threatening storm surge."
Isaias is also expected to bring flash-flood-causing rains to the Carolinas and the mid-Atlantic through the early part of this week. The National Hurricane Center urges anyone in those areas to heed the advice of local officials.
