The College of Charleston is monitoring the latest news concerning Tropical Storm Andrea.
The National Weather Service has posted a Tropical Storm Warning for the South Carolina coast.
A Tropical Storm Warning means that tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 36 hours.
At this time, all College of Charleston offices and classes will remain on regular schedule. If there are any changes to the schedule, they will be posted on the college website at www.cofc.edu.
Here is the latest from the NWS:
AT 200 PM EDT...1800 UTC...THE CENTER OF TROPICAL STORM ANDREA WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 29.0 NORTH...LONGITUDE 83.6 WEST. ANDREA IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTHEAST NEAR 17 MPH...28 KM/H. A NORTHEASTWARD ACCELERATION IS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 48 HOURS. ON THE FORECAST TRACK...THE CENTER OF ANDREA WILL REACH THE COAST OF THE BIG BEND AREA OF FLORIDA IN THE NEXT FEW HOURS. ANDREA WILL THEN MOVE NORTHEASTWARD NEAR THE EAST COAST OF THE UNITED STATES THROUGH SATURDAY. MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS ARE NEAR 60 MPH...95 KM/H...WITH HIGHER GUSTS. LITTLE CHANGE IN STRENGTH IS EXPECTED BEFORE THE CENTER REACHES THE COAST. SOME WEAKENING IS FORECAST TONIGHT AND EARLY FRIDAY WHILE THE CENTER OF ANDREA MOVES OVER LAND. ANDREA SHOULD LOSE TROPICAL CHARACTERISTICS IN ABOUT 36 TO 48 HOURS. TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD UP TO 140 MILES...220 KM FROM THE CENTER. A WIND GUST OF 58 MPH...93 KM/H WAS RECENTLY REPORTED AT PUNTA GORDA FLORIDA. THE ESTIMATED MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE IS 994 MB...29.35 INCHES... BASED ON DATA FROM A NOAA BUOY LOCATED IN THE NORTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO. HAZARDS AFFECTING LAND ---------------------- STORM SURGE...THE COMBINATION OF A STORM SURGE AND THE TIDE WILL CAUSE NORMALLY DRY AREAS NEAR THE COAST TO BE FLOODED BY RISING WATERS. THE WATER COULD REACH THE FOLLOWING HEIGHTS ABOVE GROUND IF THE PEAK SURGE OCCURS AT THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE... TAMPA BAY NORTHWARD TO AUCILLA RIVER...2 TO 4 FT FLORIDA WEST COAST SOUTH OF TAMPA BAY...1 TO 2 FT FLAGLER BEACH NORTH TO CAPE CHARLES LIGHT...1 TO 2 FT THE DEEPEST WATER WILL OCCUR ALONG THE IMMEDIATE COAST NEAR AND TO THE SOUTH OF THE FLORIDA LANDFALL LOCATION. SURGE-RELATED FLOODING DEPENDS ON THE RELATIVE TIMING OF THE SURGE AND THE TIDAL CYCLE... AND CAN VARY GREATLY OVER SHORT DISTANCES. FOR INFORMATION SPECIFIC TO YOUR AREA...PLEASE SEE PRODUCTS ISSUED BY YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. RAINFALL...ANDREA IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE TOTAL RAIN ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES OVER MUCH OF THE FLORIDA PENINSULA...EASTERN PARTS OF THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE...SOUTHEASTERN GEORGIA...AND EASTERN SOUTH CAROLINA...WITH ISOLATED MAXIMUM AMOUNTS OF 10 INCHES POSSIBLE. TOTAL RAIN ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE ALSO EXPECTED OVER EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA AND SOUTHEASTERN VIRGINIA. WIND...TROPICAL STORM CONDITIONS ARE ALREADY OCCURRING ALONG THE WEST COAST OF FLORIDA WITHIN THE WARNING AREA. THESE CONDITIONS WILL GRADUALLY SPREAD NORTHWARD ALONG THE UNITED STATES EAST COAST DURING THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS. TORNADOES...A FEW TORNADOES ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE FLORIDA PENINSULA TODAY.
