Tropical storm Bonnie was downgraded Sunday morning as it headed toward the South Carolina coast, packing maximum sustained winds of 35 mph as of 8 a.m. Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said, NBC News reported.
The tropical depression was forecast to drench the Carolinas with up to six inches of rain, the latest bad weather to hit the nation over the long holiday weekend.
Whipping winds and dangerous waves as high as 13 feet could also hit the two states, as well as Georgia and Florida over the coming days, forecasters said.
Elsewhere in the nation, flooding and heavy rain were wreaking havoc. In Texas, at least four people were killed and a 10-year-old boy who fell into the Brazos river remains missing. The state was bracing for more rain through Memorial Day.
In Missouri, Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency ahead of expected heavy rains Saturday, and warned that levees could be breached.