The National Hurricane Center is monitoring four systems in the Atlantic Basin, two of which have a greater than 50 percent chance of developing in the next five days according to an outlook they issued Friday afternoon. None, however, are an immediate threat to South Carolina.
The closest disturbance to the Sunshine State is a weak area of low pressure that was located about 100 miles southeast of Bermuda. The system, referred to as Invest 98 for the purpose of modeling, wasn't very organized Friday, but conditions could become marginally favorable for slow development as it moves over the southwestern Atlantic by the middle of next week. Invest 98 poses no threat to Florida, and even if it nears portions of the Mid-Atlantic states, it will likely be weak and swept out to see by an approaching front.
Further east, at roughly the same latitude as Invest 98, an area of low pressure is forecast to develop this weekend over the north-central Atlantic. While conditions are expected to be favorable for subtropical or tropical development in a few days, the storm system is unlikely to affect any land areas as it meanders over water.
At much lower latitudes, just east of the Windward Islands, a tropical wave (referred to as Invest 97) that shows promise of developing in the next 48 hours is unlikely to stay organized very long. Strong upper-level winds and dry air are expected to prevent significant development of Invest 97 as it moves west-northwest into the eastern Caribbean through the weekend, where it is forecast to dissipate.
In the far east Atlantic, a strong tropical wave (Invest 99) was showing signs of organization about 600 miles south of the Cabo Verde Islands. Environmental conditions are forecast to be conducive for slow development early next week, when a tropical depression or storm could form. Long range forecast data suggests Invest 99 has the potential to move all the way across the Atlantic over the next 7 to 10 days, but it too is no immediate threat to South Carolina.
The traditional peak of the Atlantic Hurricane Season was September 10th, but historical data suggests there is a subtle second rise in the frequency of tropical storms in early October. As of Friday, there have been ten named storms and five hurricanes. Florence has been the only Major Hurricane so far this season, and the next named storm would acquire the name Kirk.