Tropical Storm Sally is currently battling upper level wind shear that is helping to prevent the storm from strengthening; however, these conditions are expected to change and the storm is expected to become a hurricane before landfall Monday Evening / Tuesday Morning.
Tropical Storm Sally developed just south of Florida on Saturday afternoon. As of 2:00 p.m. Sunday, Sally has winds of 60 mph and is moving west-northwest at 12 mph. The pressure is steady at 998 mb.
Sally is battling upper level wind shear; however, the wind shear is expected to decrease Sunday evening and Monday morning as Sally moves beneath an upper level ridge of high pressure. The water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico remain favorable for development, and with the reduced upper level wind shear, Sally is expected to strengthen before landfall Monday Night or Tuesday Morning in Louisiana.
At landfall, the greatest threats are very strong wind gusts, extremely heavy rain, and powerful storm surge. Hurricane Warnings have been issued for the Louisiana coastline in preparation of Sally. Now is the time to make preparations along the coastline for Sally.
Storm Surge 
Hurricane Force Winds 
3 Day Flooding Risk
Will Sally Impact on the Carolinas? Possibly.
There is an increasing chance that Sally will impact the Carolinas later this week as it moves northeastward. The current NHC track (pictured above) brings Sally into Louisiana Monday Night and Tuesday Morning before slowly drifting northward. A ridge of high pressure is expected to initially block Sally from moving north. In the middle of the week, an upper level trough and cold front is expected to pick Sally up and bring it eastward towards the Carolinas Thursday and Friday.
The GFS computer model shows the remanants of Sally moving across the Carolinas on Thursday and Friday. While this is a dynamic situation and changes might occur, it appears we may be dealing with heavy rains across the Carolinas on Thursday and Friday.
It remains too early to determine the exact timing of the heaviest rains or even the amount of rain expected. I will continue to monitor the latest information with Tropical Storm Sally and will keep you updated with the latest information.
