CHARLOTTE — Severe weather from Tropical Storm Elsa spurred tornado warnings in Delaware and New Jersey early Friday as the system moved over the mid-Atlantic states and into the northeastern United States.
Overnight in coastal New Jersey, a 78 mph wind gust was recorded in Ludlam Bay, and a 71 mph gust was recorded in Beach Haven — both appeared to be “associated with nearby tornadoes,” the National Hurricane Center said in a 5 a.m. update.
Elsa had maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, forecasters said. It was located 5 miles east of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and 175 miles southwest of Montauk Point, New York.
Elsa moved over North Carolina and South Carolina on Thursday, tracking just west of Interstate 95. Several tornadoes were reported in the eastern part of the state.
Elsa moved through North Carolina fairly quickly, with the entire storm out of the state by the evening.
Breaking Port Royal- the downtown area was hit hard overnight by Elsa. Twenty homes were damaged along with a veterinarian hospital. The story today on eyewitness news at noon and five. pic.twitter.com/o1EsAMg08F
Elsa arrived in the Carolinas Thursday morning, bringing heavy rain with it.
Elsa remained a tropical storm all day Thursday, with winds of 45 mph and moving over South Carolina and North Carolina.
The first rain bands from Elsa arrived in Chester, Lancaster and Chesterfield counties late Wednesday afternoon.
This storm raced across the Carolinas, with the heaviest rain falling Thursday morning.
Our southeastern communities were hit the hardest, with around 2-4 inches of rain.
Areas around the Charlotte metro saw around 1-2 inches with locations west of Charlotte receiving less than an inch of rain.
A Flash Flood Watch was issued for Stanly, Anson and Richmond counties through Thursday afternoon.
Elsa pulled away late Thursday afternoon.
(Watch below: Tracking Elsa: Reporter Dave Faherty reporting from Port Royal, Georgia)
Tracking Elsa: Reporter Dave Faherty reporting from Port Royal, Georgia
(WATCH BELOW: Reporter Dave Faherty reporting from Savannah, Georgia)
Reporter Dave Faherty reporting from Savannah, Georgia
Tropical storm pounds East Coast after killing 1 in Florida
Elsa was already blamed for one death in Florida on Wednesday. And Elsa previously sparked a damaging tornado in Georgia.
A tropical storm warning Friday morning stretched along parts of the East Coast from New Jersey to Massachusetts. Forecasters said Elsa was moving northeast at 31 mph.
The hurricane center said rainfall totals between 2 to 4 inches were expected through Friday for eastern mid-Atlantic states and into New England. Isolated totals up to 6 inches were possible. There was a risk of considerable flash and urban flooding.
The tropical storm was expected to cross over the Northeast by the afternoon and move over Atlantic Canada by the night and Saturday. No significant change in strength was expected during the day, and Elsa is forecast to become a post-tropical cyclone by Friday night.
On Wednesday, nine people were injured in coastal Camden County, Georgia, when a tornado struck a campground for active-duty service members and military retirees. Eight of those hurt had to be taken to hospitals, Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base spokesperson Chris Tucker said.
The EF-2 tornado flipped over multiple RVs, throwing one of the overturned vehicles about 200 feet into a lake, the National Weather Service said in a preliminary report early Thursday after its employees surveyed the damage.
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Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida Pedestrians dash across the intersection of Greene and Duval streets as heavy winds and rain associated with Tropical Storm Elsa passes Key West, Fla., on Tuesday, July 6, 2021. (Rob O'Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida Determined visitors head for Sloppy Joe's Bar while crossing a flooded Duval Street as heavy winds and rain pass over Key West, Fla., Tuesday, July 6, 2021. (Rob O'Neal/The Key West Citizen via AP)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida Looking north at the neighborhood of Paradise Island on Treasure Island, Fla., outer bands of Tropical Storm Elsa brings a downpour of rain over the area on Tuesday afternoon, July 6, 2021. (Marc Topkin/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida Stelios Uzunbylu, left, and Jerry Kalouris, right, secure a tarp over a cargo hold on his sponge boat on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, on Dodecanese Boulevard at the Tarpon Springs, Fla., Sponge Docks where businesses were being closed and boats were being prepared for the arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida Shawn Frazier, 61, reinforces tarps over his Tampa home's roof ahead of Tropical Storm Elsa on Tuesday, July 6, 2021. Frazier said there was some leaking he caught during a recent rainy day. (Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida Jonathan Hines, left, catches a sandbag tossed by Jovan Williams, both with the City of St. Petersburg Stormwater Department, as they work along with 15-20 other employees to load up cars at the sandbag distribution site in the parking lot of the James "JC" Turner Fields, Tuesday, July 6, 2021 in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida Athos Karistinos, 13, center, and his brother, Anastasios Karistinos, 16, emerge from their family's gift shop, Sponge Diver Supply, after helping their father fortify the windows and doors at the business on Dodecanese Boulevard at the Tarpon Springs, Fla., Sponge Docks on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, where residents and business owners were preparing for the arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida People walk past sand bags placed at the entrance of a restaurant to prevent flooding as Tropical Storm Elsa moves northward toward the Tampa Bay area on July 6, 2021, in Clearwater Beach, Florida, United States. (Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida Melissa Loven, Qi Crystal Energy shop owner, left, and Crea Egan, right, prepare the store ahead of tropical storm Elsa Tuesday, July 6, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. (John Pendygraft/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida A red flag hangs from a lifeguard station just south of the collapsed Champlain Towers South condominium building where rescue crews continue to work, Tuesday, July 6, 2021, in Miami Beach, Fla. The search effort faced new threats from severe weather with Tropical Storm Elsa. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida A hotel worker stacks beach furniture as Tropical Storm Elsa moves northward toward the Tampa Bay area on July 6, 2021, in Clearwater Beach, Florida, United States. Storm is expected to make landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane early Wednesday morning. (Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida Tim Mullen, 47, and Michael Brissette, 11, cover their windows with hurricane shutters in preparation for Tropical Storm Elsa, Tuesday, July 6, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. (Arielle Bader/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida Foot traffic was sparse and most businesses closed by late Tuesday, July 6, 2021, on Dodecanese Boulevard at the Tarpon Springs, Fla., Sponge Docks where building were being prepared for the arrival of Tropical Storm Elsa. (Douglas R. Clifford/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida A man walks past sand bags placed at the entrance of a store to prevent flooding as Tropical Storm Elsa moves northward toward the Tampa Bay area on July 6, 2021, in Clearwater Beach, Florida, United States. Storm is expected to make landfall on Florida's Gulf Coast as a Category 1 hurricane early Wednesday morning. (Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida John Jelkl, 71, has his wheel chair loaded down with sandbags as he leaves the sandbagging site in the parking lot of the James "JC" Turner Fields, Tuesday, July 6, 2021, in St. Petersburg, Fla. (Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida A sign at Tampa International Airport advises motorists of the closing of the airport from 5 p.m. until 10 a.m as Tropical Storm Elsa moves northward toward the Tampa Bay area on July 6, 2021, in Clearwater Beach, Florida, United States. (Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida Canceled flights are displayed on a screen at Tampa International Airport shortly before the airport closed at 5 p.m. as Tropical Storm Elsa moves northward toward the Tampa Bay area on July 6, 2021, in Clearwater Beach, Florida, United States. (Paul Hennessy/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Photos: Tropical Storm Elsa takes aim at Florida Flight cancellations seen on a board at Tampa International Airport's cell phone waiting lot on Tuesday, July 6, 2021, in Tampa, Fla. (Ivy Ceballo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Sergio Rodriguez, who lives near the RV park, said he raced to the scene fearing friends staying at the park might be hurt.
“There were just RVs flipped over on their sides, pickup trucks flipped over, a couple of trailers had been shifted and a couple of trailers were in the water” of a pond on the site, Rodriguez said in a phone interview.
Authorities in Jacksonville, Florida, said one person was killed Wednesday when a tree fell and struck two cars. A spokesperson for the Naval Air Force Atlantic Office said Thursday that a sailor assigned to Patrol and Reconnaissance Squadron 16 in Jacksonville was killed.
In South Carolina, a Coast Guard Air Station Savannah crew rescued a family that became stranded Wednesday on Otter Island after their boat drifted off the beach. The group was flown to a hospital in good health, a Coast Guard news release said.
The National Weather Service in Morehead City, North Carolina, tweeted that a tornado was spotted near Fairfield on Thursday afternoon.
Scattered power outages were being reported along Elsa’s path Friday morning, with about 24,000 homes and businesses without electricity from Delaware to Massachusetts, according to the website poweroutages.us.
Elsa is the earliest fifth-named storm on record, said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami.
(WATCH BELOW: 2021 Hurricane Season: Experts project ‘above normal’ activity could generate 17 named storms)
2021 Hurricane Season: Experts project ‘above normal’ activity could generate 17 named storms
