Tropical Storm Bonnie strengthens slightly near Carolina coast

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Tropical Storm Bonnie gained strength Saturday night as it moved closer to the US coast.

The National Hurricane Center upgraded Tropical Depression #2 to Tropical Storm Bonnie Saturday afternoon. Bonnie is the second named storm of the season.

Tropical Storm Bonnie was about 130 miles south-southeast of Charleston, SC, as of the 11 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. Tropical Storm Warnings continue in effect for the South Carolina Coast.

The system continues to move slowly to the northwest toward the Carolina coast. Various computer forecast models have the system off the South Carolina coast this Memorial Day weekend and then slowly drifting up into North Carolina, which certainly could put a damper on vacationers’ plans for the unofficial start of the summer vacation season.

Click here to see the latest tropical update from the WWAY StormTrack3 weather team

Showers, some with heavy rain, will continue through Monday along coastal North and South Carolina as east to northeasterly winds pump in plenty of Atlantic moisture.

Also worth noting is the real possibility for conditions favorable to produce dangerous rip currents to increase over the weekend. People with interests along the Carolina coast need to continue to closely monitor the latest forecasts on the progress of this potential storm.