Staff reports  |  Officials are closely watching the churning in the Atlantic Ocean as Tropical Storm Isaias moves north towards the Carolinas coast.  Heavy, spotty rain has been reported Monday morning.  

The storm, near the Georgia-Florida line early this morning, is expected to be off the coast of Charleston by Monday night, bringing with it heavy rains.  At 5 a.m., maximum sustained winds were 70 mph.  It may gain enough power to be a hurricane, forecasters say, with the highest winds occurring off the coast.  The probable landfall is Wilmington, N.C.

As of 8 a.m., Charleston was under a tropical storm warning, but a hurricane warning stretched from the South Santee River to Surf City, N.C.  A storm surge warning is in effect from Edisto Island to the North Carolina line.