(Bloomberg) — Isaias could cause $1.5 billion in losses as it picks up speed and strength, likely becoming a hurricane before hitting the Carolinas and posing the second tropical threat to New York in a month. Tropical storm and hurricane warnings reach from South Carolina to Manhattan, with the flood threat reaching well inland and as far north as Vermont, according to the National Weather Service. Isaias will likely come ashore between Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Wilmington, North Carolina, and then race north overland to Canada. "There is certainly going to be some flooding in the eastern U.S.," said Don Keeney, a meteorologist with private forecaster Maxar. Isaias will sweep through the Mid-Atlantic after striking the Carolinas, spinning over New York late Tuesday (Aug. 4) and then drifting off to northern New England and Quebec, where it will almost certainly fall apart by Thursday. A tropical storm warning has been issued for New York, the second this year. The city was also under threat from Tropical Storm Fay in early July. The storm's top winds have reached 70 miles (113 kilometers) per hour, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory at 8 a.m. ET. Isaias is expected to strengthen later Monday (Aug. 3) and become a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds of at least 75 mph. It was about 250 miles south of Myrtle Beach. North Carolina has opened shelters for people looking to flee the storm and will screen for Covid-19 symptoms, sending anyone who tests positive to another location where they can be isolated and receive medical attention, Governor Roy Cooper said in a tweet. The state has also activated 150 National Guard troops to help prepare for flooding and damage. Isaias's jump in strength overnight isn't as concerning as its more westerly track, which will throw more cities in its path, said Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler with Enki Research. Overall, the storm should inflict about $1.5 billion in damage and losses as it sweeps north. The area of hurricane-strength winds is small, and the storm's structure is ragged, he said. "If you're in the wrong place at the wrong time on the immediate coast of North Carolina, you could experience hurricane-force winds," Watson said. "But it's not likely." Keeney said corn, bean, cotton and peanut crops in North Carolina will get the worst of Isaias, but the storm's speed will likely limit widespread damage. Across the mid-Atlantic, as much as 6 inches of rain could fall, with New York and most of New England getting as much as 4 inches, the hurricane center said. "Plan for power outages, street flooding, some scattered trees down, and have your radio on in case a random tornado forms," Watson said. President Donald Trump issued emergency declarations in Florida, where the storm nearly hit Sunday, and North Carolina. Isaias killed at least one woman in Puerto Rico and caused slight damage across the Bahamas. It's the ninth Atlantic storm of 2020; the fastest such a tally has been reached in records going back to 1851. While forecasters track Isaias, they're also watching another patch of thunderstorms near the Caribbean Leeward Islands that has a 60% chance of becoming the season's next storm in five days, the center said. — With assistance from Marvin G. Perez, Jim Wyss, Luke McGrath and Serene Cheong. Related: |

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