Imelda may soon spring to life, pose significant risk to US
The southeastern United States is on alert for a potentially land-falling tropical storm or hurricane next week as strengthening Tropical Depression Nine has joined Major Hurricane Humberto in the Atlantic.
As Hurricane Humberto stays out in the Atlantic, a tropical depression currently passing through the Caribbean may strengthen on a path toward the southeast U.S.
AccuWeather hurricane experts are becoming increasingly concerned about the possibility of a potent, landfalling storm along the southeastern United States coast next week with flooding rainfall, strong winds and coastal inundation. The budding tropical storm, now Tropical Depression Nine, which would acquire the name Imelda, will join strengthening Hurricane Humberto in the Atlantic basin.
A tropical storm watch is in effect for the east coast of Florida.
The setup of two named storms within hundreds of miles of each other is rare and highly complex. The last time something similar occurred near the U.S. was in 2016, when Hurricanes Matthew and Nicole were about 800 miles apart.
Early next week, two hurricanes could be about half that distance apart, with the potential for interaction between them affecting the track and strength of each storm.
In this image, captured on Friday afternoon, Sept. 26, 2025, Hurricane Humberto can be seen right of center. The tropical rainstorm could be seen over Hispaniola, eastern Cuba and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The rainstorm is forecast by AccuWeather to become a tropical storm in the coming days. (AccuWeather Enhanced RealVue™ Satellite)
Budding Imelda may quickly strengthen this weekend
"A tropical rainstorm (now Tropical Depression Nine) north of Cuba is expected to gradually gain wind intensity and become a tropical storm this weekend, bringing gusty winds and heavy rain to the Turks and Caicos as well as the Bahamas," AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva said.
Depending on how quickly the depression evolves into a named tropical storm and potentially a hurricane will determine the severity of wind, flooding and wave conditions in the Bahamas.
The strengthening storm is then expected to get pulled north toward the southern Atlantic Seaboard later Sunday into Monday.
"The stronger the storm, the less time people will have to prepare along the Southeast coast as a more potent storm will be pulled north faster," AccuWeather Lead Storm Warning Meteorologist Billy Clark said.
"Several track scenarios remain possible, ranging from a landfall along the southeastern U.S. coast to more of a northeast turn out to sea," DaSilva said.
The dashed red line represents AccuWeather meteorologists’ forecast path for the eye of future Tropical Storm and Hurricane Imelda. The gray shaded areas on either side of the forecast path represent alternative paths the storm could take based on changing steering conditions. Tropical storm and hurricane conditions will extend well beyond the track of the eye.
Another scenario would involve the storm stalling just offshore or along the Southeast coast for a period of time.
Interaction with Humberto may play a significant role in the path of the storm. Humberto may tend to pull the storm away from the U.S., at least for a time, or steal some of its moisture. In this scenario, rain impacts from the budding Imelda would be significantly limited in the southeastern U.S.
On the other hand, if both storms remain separate enough with minimal interaction, the budding Imelda could push directly onshore into the Carolinas early next week, perhaps as a hurricane with damaging winds, coastal flooding, erosive waves and flooding rainfall. This is the scenario that AccuWeather hurricane experts belive is more likely as of Friday afternoon.
Regardless of whether a hurricane makes landfall in the southeastern U.S. or not, strong winds will create large, chaotic swells that will propagate toward the southern and middle Atlantic coast late this weekend to the middle of next week.
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Assisting will be an area of high pressure over the Northeast, causing winds to blow from the ocean toward the land.
Flash flood threat may be significant in the US
Heavy rainfall could lead to widespread flooding across portions of the southeastern United States by early next week regardless of the intensity of the budding tropical storm.
“There is an increasing risk of heavy and persistent rainfall over a long period of time across the Carolinas and parts of the Southeast. If this storm slows down or stalls out, there may be hours of torrential rainfall that could trigger widespread, life-threatening flash flooding,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said.
A wide swath of 2-4 inches of rain is expected from eastern Georgia to central Virginia. There can be 8-16 inches of rain from northeastern South Carolina to eastern North Carolina, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 24 inches.
"Rainfall of this magnitude can lead to widespread life-threatening flooding, especially if the storm slows down or stalls," DaSilva said.
The risk of significant flash flooding could extend as far west as the southern Appalachians. About a year ago, Hurricane Helene unleashed tremendous rain in the southern Appalachians, which led to disastrous and deadly flooding. The hardest-hit communities are still struggling a year later.
To further complicate the situation, a non-tropical storm will bring showers and thunderstorms to part of the Southeast into this weekend and may bring localized flooding regardless.
In a worst-case scenario, heavy rain from both tropical and non-tropical origins could bring prolonged, tremendous rain and flooding to parts of the Carolinas and Georgia with the potential for damage comparable to impacts from Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
“If the storm turns out to sea or parallels the coastline, rainfall amounts and the flooding risk may be greatly reduce," Porter said.
In terms of wind, gusts of 40-60 miles per hour can occur from eastern Georgia to far southern Virginia. Stronger wind gusts of 60-80 mph can occur near where the storm makes landfall, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 100 mph.
"These winds can be strong enough to cause power outages and localized structural damage," DaSilva said.
The storm's wind field is expected to broaden as the storm approaches the coast and begins to interact with a potent jet stream overhead.
"Now is the time to prepare and make sure your emergency supplies are stocked up and ready. We don’t want anyone to be caught off guard or to underestimate the risks. People across the Southeast should closely monitor AccuWeather forecast updates throughout the weekend," Porter said.
Humberto to impact Bermuda
Humberto strengthened into the Atlantic basin's third hurricane of the season Friday morning and is expected undergo a little more intensification this weekend, possibly into the Atlantic basin's second Category 5 hurricane this season.
The dashed red line represents AccuWeather meteorologists’ forecast path for the eye of Humberto. The gray shaded areas on either side of the forecast path represent alternative paths the storm could take based on changing steering conditions. Tropical storm and hurricane conditions will extend well beyond the track of the eye.
"Humberto is forecast to pass between Bermuda and the U.S. East Coast next week. Humberto may bring gusty winds and several inches of rain to Bermuda, depending on the strength and proximity of the hurricane to the islands," DaSilva said.
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