The Tribune

TROPICAL Storm Colin headed out to sea on Tuesday after dropping heavy rains from Florida to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, flooding roads and causing power outages, especially in the Sunshine State.

Tropical storm warnings have been dropped for most of the southeast coast, with the only area still affected ranging from Cape Lookout to near Nags Head in North Carolina. The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that warning was likely to be dropped on Tuesday afternoon.

By 11am, the storm was moving into the Atlantic off the North Carolina coast, with maximum sustained winds up to 60mph, the NHC reported. Forecasters said up to another two inches of rain could fall along the Outer Banks, with up to three more inches of rain in central Florida.

In Dare County, North Carolina, Emergency Management Director Drew Pearson said rain had been falling nearly continuously since last week’s Tropical Storm Bonnie but that, so far, major flooding had not impacted the area.

“We’re really just seeing large amounts of water,” Mr Pearson said, noting that many roads in the Outer Banks are at sea level, meaning that they can be quickly impacted by heavy rains, but adding that traffic may be slow but had not been stopped anywhere.

Schools in Wilmington, North Carolina, opened two hours later than usual because of the weather.

In Florida, a survey team was investigating a possible tornado related to the storm that damaged homes and toppled trees on Jacksonville’s west side.

Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency as Colin moved across the state, dumping nine inches of rain in parts of Pinellas County along Florida’s Gulf Coast.

Flood warnings were issued in many parts of the Tampa Bay area and Tuesday’s commute was a difficult one with some roads underwater. Gov Scott cautioned that the state has seen severe flooding in unlikely places after previous storms.

“We’ll just see how well it runs off,” Scott said. “I always remember back to (Tropical Storm) Isaac in 2012, it went west but we had unbelievable flooding in Palm Beach County.”

No significant problems were reported in South Carolina, with a handful of roads closed in Charleston and near the Georgia-South Carolina state line.

The high winds and rain also knocked out power to about 10,000 Floridians on Monday evening from Tampa Bay to Jacksonville.

Associated Press