Claudette heads out to sea

Claudette regained tropical storm status and headed out to sea from the North Carolina coast, less than two days after the system killed 14 people in Alabama, including nine children who died in a highway crash.

As of 8:00 am Monday, the National Hurricane Center had discontinued tropical storm warnings for the North Carolina coast as the worst weather with the storm was pushing out to sea. By 11:00 AM, the minimal tropical storm, packing winds of 40 mph, was centered 90 miles south of Ocean City, while zipping off to the east-northeast at 28 mph.

The system is expected to pass near or south of Nova Scotia before dissipating late Tuesday.

Claudette proved to be a unique tropical cyclone as it was declared a tropical storm over land rather than the ocean, both upon landfall in southeast Louisiana Saturday morning and on its departure over the North Carolina coastal plain early Monday.

But the storm was much more problematic along the northern Gulf Coast and in the Southeast than it was in the Mid-Atlantic.

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When Claudette was first named early Saturday, it became the fifth earliest third-named storm on record in the Atlantic. The 2021 Atlantic hurricane season, which continues through November, is predicted to be another active one.

Meanwhile, Environment Canada meteorologist Jill Maepea says the storm will not directly impact most of the Maritimes.

“Claudette will pass south of Nova Scotia and that means all the winds and the heavy rain are expected to stay offshore mainly in marine districts.”

Maepea added any impacts will be felt along Nova Scotia’s Atlantic coast with heavy rain and gusty winds although no significant waves or storm surge is expected.