Weather Alert  –  September 25, 2026

Atlantic Active, But Nothing Near Us

The Atlantic has turned more active over the last week, and we have two tropical cyclones to track today. However, the nearest one to South Carolina is over 2100 miles away, and no tropical cyclones will affect us for the next week.

The above loop of visible satellite imagery above shows features of interest across the North Atlantic and eastern U. S.:

• Tropical Storm Fay over the middle of the North Atlantic.
• Tropical Storm Gonzalo over the far eastern tropical Atlantic, just off the West African coast.
• Tropical waves along 78° west in the Caribbean Sea and along 58° west just east of the Lesser Antilles.
• A strengthening extratropical storm centered east of North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

Image Source: University of Wisconsin RealEarth

The first storm to track is Tropical Storm Fay, which has been an off-and-on tropical cyclone since forming last Saturday. It will drift westward and should get a little stronger over the next 24 hours before dissipating early next week as it encounters hostile upper-level winds.

The other is Tropical Storm Gonzalo, even farther away (over 3700 miles), centered just east of Cabo Verde. Gonzalo is moving north into increasingly hostile conditions (very dry air, strong vertical wind shear, and cooler ocean waters), so it’s likely to weaken and become non-tropical by Monday.

A couple of tropical waves are worth tracking, but neither has much chance of becoming a tropical cyclone in the short term. The one east of the Lesser Antilles today might get pulled into the Gulf next weekend, where it could develop further.

We still have not seen any hurricanes in the Atlantic so far this season, putting us ahead of every hurricane season since 1900 except the two seasons, 1907 and 1914, that had no hurricanes.

We may also see some effects from the East Pacific’s Hurricane Polo in several days. It will eventually move across northwestern Mexico and into the Southwest before its remains move east, possibly bringing us downpours next weekend.

And finally, you’ll hear in the news about Hurricane Nolo bringing gusty winds and extreme rains to Hawaii (and by extreme, I mean FEET of rain on the windward parts of the Big Island, severe flooding and landslides will become likely), but at over 4500 miles away, it won’t affect us.

While nothing is near us now and nothing will be for at least another week, the weather pattern will be conducive to a storm forming closer to us in a week or so. So, stay prepped. If you need prep advice, hit up hurricane.sc.

We finally got our first taste of fall weather this week, but it won’t last much longer, as above-average temperatures will return over the weekend.

It will remain dry through the weekend despite an intense storm swirling off the Mid-Atlantic coast. The storm is not tropical, but it will impact areas from North Carolina’s Outer Banks northward into Atlantic Canada with heavy rain, strong winds and coastal flooding. The storm will weaken Sunday night as it moves north.

Our coastline has seen minor to moderate flooding at high tide, and this will continue for at least a few more days, but you can blame Saturday’s full moon, as our winds are offshore. A gusty breeze will affect the eastern part of the state through this evening, but that’s the only effect we’ll see from this coastal storm.

We’ll end up with a super weekend weather-wise, thanks to the cool, dry air that the East Coast storm is shoving into the Southeast. After highs only in the mid-70s today, we’ll warm up this weekend with highs within a few degrees of 80 tomorrow, then lower to the mid-80s on Sunday. Each day will feature bright sunshine and maybe a few high clouds. Enjoy!

It turns progressively more summery next week as it gets hotter and gradually more humid while an upper-level ridge builds over this part of the country. Most of the state will remain rain-free all week, but there’s a small chance for a sea breeze-triggered afternoon shower or thunderstorm later next week along the Coastal Plain. Highs early in the week will mainly be in the 80s across the state; later in the week, we’ll see mainly upper 80s and lower 90s.

Next weekend will bring the next chance for rain, as a cold front moves in, perhaps steering the remnants of Polo in the East Pacific our way.

Frank Strait
Severe Weather Liaison
S.C. State Climate Office