Hurricane Joaquin is locked in a dance with an extraordinarily heavy rainstorm that is already drenching the Carolinas. As the two draw closer together over the next few days, the effects could be disastrous for the East Coast.
The rainstorm is the dance partner that is leading this tango, and what it does will determine where Joaquin goes and how much of the coast floods. Storm No. 1 could push Joaquin out to sea or pull it into the heavily crowded Northeast.
At the same time, Joaquin is feeding the storm with moisture, contributing to its torrential rain.
Meteorologists are deeply uncertain about where Joaquin will go. But they warn that the record-breaking downpours from storm No. 1 are a sure and scary thing, at least for an area stretching from South Carolina to Washington.
Joaquin strengthened over the Bahamas into a powerful Category 4 storm with 130 mph wind Thursday, and computer models over the past two days have switched back and forth, sometimes showing it blowing ashore along the East Coast, sometimes showing it peeling out to sea.
The latest National Hurricane Center forecast Thursday night had Joaquin continuing to veer away from the Southeast coast and heading toward the Cape Cod area of Massachusetts, though probably more eastward.
Meteorologists are warning people not to focus solely on the hurricane’s position. Streets and homes can still get walloped with rain and flooding associated with the hurricane even if it is 1,000 miles away.
