Storm Karen to explode in just DAYS with dangerous path to the US

A weather system developing right off the US East Coast could strengthen into a dangerous tropical storm in the coming days, experts have warned.

Meteorologists said that this tropical rainstorm is expected to form quickly over the weekend, potentially bringing ‘prolonged coastal flooding’ to the entire East Coast, from southern Florida to New England.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has noted that the next two Atlantic storm names will be Jerry and Karen, with Jerry likely to form farther away from the US this week.

As for the storm that could become Karen, forecasters have already predicted that North Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland are expected to get heavy rainfall between Friday and Saturday.

The threat stems from increased tropical activity in the Atlantic basin, where a low-pressure system near the Southeast is soaking up warm Gulf Stream waters, causing it to organize into a potential tropical blast.

Experts at AccuWeather added that this looming storm will likely bring beach erosion, rough surf, and dangerous rip currents to millions along the East Coast.

While it’s too early to know exactly where Karen will strike, forecasters said that one path could take it towards Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and the New England states by Sunday.

AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva added that additional heat and energy from the warm ocean current in the Southeast could allow Karen to strengthen even further, increasing the risk of the year’s first hurricane making landfall in the US.

Currently, NHC has only been tracking the development of the tropical wave dubbed Invest 95L, which has a 90 percent chance of becoming Jerry by Thursday.

However, that storm is expected to turn away from the US once it reaches the Caribbean this week.

Although the NHC has not issued alerts for an impending Atlantic storm named Karen along the coast, officials have previously warned that these weather events can form quickly and with little warning.

Ken Graham, the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service, said that every Category 5 hurricane that has ever hit the US was a tropical storm or something even weaker just three days prior.

‘The Carolina coastline will be of particular concern. Areas of the Outer Banks that lost several beach houses to rough surf last week could face another round of beach erosion and rough surf from this coastal storm,’ DaSilva cautioned on Tuesday.

AccuWeather added that the tropical storm could also end up ruining the fall foliage for millions in the Northeast this weekend.

If Karen encounters a slow-moving high-pressure system in the North Atlantic, it could be pushed closer to the US, potentially moving over several northern states and stripping trees that are at or near peak fall color 

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Adam Douty said: ‘If the storm moves far enough north, wind associated with it may bring down a lot of leaves across the Northeast.’

If this potential weather event does grow into a named storm that slams the East Coast, it’ll first build into a tropical depression this weekend, meaning the storm will grow a defined center of low pressure and some circulation.

Karen would start to look more like a swirling weather system on satellite images.

From there, NHC forecasters would upgrade it to a tropical storm if stronger thunderstorms develop and winds pick up to between 40 and 75 mph.

If the sustained winds grow even stronger than that, Karen would turn into the third or possibly fourth Atlantic hurricane to threaten the US in the last two weeks, following Humberto, Imelda, and possibly Jerry.

Meanwhile, another storm in the Pacific named Priscilla is on the verge of becoming a major hurricane that could flood the Southwest.

The hurricane is currently a Category 2 storm, threatening to bring thunderstorms and flash floods to several West Coast states later this week.

Most spaghetti models for Priscilla show it turning north as it moves along the coast of Mexico, bringing a wave of moisture to Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Southern California.