Tropical Storm Imelda formed Sunday in the western Atlantic and is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane Tuesday though maps show it moving away from the southeastern U.S., according to the Miami-based National Hurricane Center.
Imelda is the ninth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season.
Tropical Storm Imelda forecast maps
As of 5 a.m. Monday, Imelda was bringing tropical storm conditions and heavy rains to the central and northwestern Bahamas, according to the NHC. The storm’s center was about 60 miles south of Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas and 295 miles southeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 45 mph.
Forecasters said the storm was expected to strengthen through Tuesday.
Imelda was moving north at about 8 mph, according to the NHC. Rainfall from Imelda is likely to continue impacting Cuba and the Bahamas through Tuesday.
In addition, the center said, rainfall amounts of 1 to 2 inches with up to 4 inches are expected through Tuesday across northeast Florida, coastal South Carolina, and coastal sections of southeast North Carolina.
Swells generated by Tropical Storm Imelda and Hurricane Humberto are affecting the Bahamas and will spread to much of the U.S. East Coast early this week, the center added, warning that they’re “likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”
CBS Miami
“On the forecast track,” the hurricane center said, Imelda’s center “is expected to move across the northwestern Bahamas today and then turn east-northeastward, moving away from the southeastern U.S. by the middle part of this week. … Gradual strengthening is forecast and Imelda could become a hurricane on Tuesday.”
NOAA/National Hurricane Center 
Tropical storm warnings and watches for Imelda
The Bahamas government discontinued the tropical storm warning for all of the central Bahamas and parts of the northwestern Bahamas, but a tropical storm warning was still in place for portions of the northwestern Bahamas. Interests in Bermuda should monitor the progress of Imelda, the hurricane center said.
A tropical storm watch that had been issued for part of Florida’s east coast, from the Palm Beach-Martin County line to the Flagler-Volusia County line, was canceled Sunday afternoon.
Imelda follows Hurricane Humberto
Imelda came on the heels of Hurricane Humberto, which rapidly intensified to a major hurricane over the Atlantic on Saturday but is not expected to reach land. Humberto reached as high as a Category 5 on Saturday before fluctuating back down to strong Category 4.
NOAA/National Hurricane Center/GOES-19 Satellite Image 
Forecasters said last week there was a small possibility the two systems could interact, creating what is known as a Fujiwhara effect, a rare phenomenon in which two different storms merge and become entangled around a newly formed, common center. However, they said it wasn’t considered a likely outcome in this case.
Emily Mae Czachor
contributed to this report.