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WEATHER
South Carolina

Tropical depression forms in Atlantic; warnings issued in S.C.

Doyle Rice
USA TODAY

A tropical depression formed in the Atlantic Ocean late Friday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center reported.

Tropical Depression Two formed late Friday in the Atlantic. It's expected to impact the South Carolina coast over the weekend.

A tropical storm warning has been issued for the South Carolina coast, from the Savannah River northeastward to Little River
Inlet, as the system is expected to intensify and impact the area over the weekend.

As of 5 p.m. ET, the depression was located about 435 miles southeast of Charleston, S.C., and was moving to the west-northwest at 13 mph. It had winds of 35 mph.

Once the depression's winds reach 39 mph, it will be named Tropical Storm Bonnie. The depression is expected to become a tropical storm later Friday night or on Saturday, the hurricane center said.

NOAA predicts 10-16 named storms, near-normal Atlantic hurricane season

"Frequent moderate to heavy rainfall is likely, especially over eastern South Carolina and eastern North Carolina from Saturday night into early next week," AccuWeather meteorologist Dan Kottlowski said.

Bonnie would be the second named storm of the season, which officially begins Wednesday. Hurricane Alex formed far out in the Atlantic in January.

Tropical storms occasionally form in May. One formed last year, and two swirled in 2012, weather.com reported. Since records began in 1851, 21 tropical storms have formed in the month, and four became hurricanes, according to the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Earlier Friday, federal meteorologists predicted a "near-normal" Atlantic hurricane season, with 10-16 named storms forecast to form, of which 4-8 would be hurricanes.

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