A low-category hurricane, soon to be named Imelda, may reach coastal Georgia and the Carolinas early next week, the National Weather Service (NWS) predicts. Or at least, a tropical storm near or at hurricane-intensity.

"Later in the day on Monday we'll really see conditions start to deteriorate," said NWS meteorologist Carl Barnes at a 6 p.m. briefing on Sept. 26.

Invest 94L has transformed into even more of a mouthful: "Potential Tropical Cyclone 9." That's because it's not yet a well-formed storm, though the NWS says it will organize into a cyclone over the weekend as it showers stormy weather on the Bahamas.

This weekend's rain in Savannah is unrelated to the impending Imelda. But when the system reaches hurricane strength early next week, coastlines from Georgia to the southern mid-

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