Charlotte and NC coast brace for Tropical Storm Elsa. Here’s the latest on its path.

While much uncertainty remained about its ultimate path, what was Hurricane Elsa was downgraded to a tropical storm Saturday afternoon but still projected to barrel into the Carolinas with fierce winds and rain by mid- to late-week, according to National Hurricane Center forecasters.

And the National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City put coastal residents on alert Saturday morning.

“Elsa could bring impacts to Eastern NC by as early as mid week,” NWS meteorologists posted on Twitter at 6 a.m. Saturday. “It is too early for any specific impacts, but residents and visitors are urged to pay close attention to the forecast over the coming days.”

The storm could reach the Carolinas late Wednesday and into early Thursday, according to the NWS.

At 11 a.m. Saturday, Elsa was downgraded to a tropical storm packing 70 mph winds. Conditions wrought by the storm were deteriorating over parts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, the National Hurricane Center reported.

On Friday, the storm “blew off roofs and snapped trees” in the eastern Caribbean islands, the Associated Press reported.

Hurricane Center forecasters on Friday night feared the former category one hurricane could develop into a category 3 at some point. Category 3 storms carry winds of 111 mph to 129 mph and cause “major damage,” according to the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale on the National Hurricane Center’s website.

Tracking Elsa

Despite downgrading the storm, the Hurricane Center said hurricane conditions were still possible in Haiti and the Dominican Republic later Saturday and in Cuba on Sunday. Elsa could dump up to 15 inches of rain on parts of Cuba, Hurricane Center forecasters said.

At 5 p.m. Saturday, Elsa descended on Haiti, while new tropical storm watches and warnings were issued for Cuba and the Florida Keys. Elsa is expected to reach the Florida west coast on Tuesday, according to the center.

Elsa could strengthen again, according to Adam Douty, senior meteorologist at AccuWeather, the private weather service.

“Elsa is expected to regain wind intensity early next week once it passes north of Cuba and moves into the eastern Gulf,” Douty said in a statement on Saturday morning. “And there is a chance that conditions may be favorable for Elsa to affect Florida as a hurricane for a time during Tuesday and Wednesday.”

Tropical storm-force winds could arrive in the Charlotte area by 8 a.m. Wednesday, a National Hurricane Center map showed. Such winds range from 39 mph to 73 mph, according to the NWS.

“However, uncertainty in the forecast remains larger than usual due to Elsa’s potential interaction with the islands of Hispaniola and Cuba,” according to the National Hurricane Center update at 11 a.m. Saturday.

Other strong storms

By comparison, Hurricane Hugo was a category 4 hurricane when it made landfall in Isle of Palms, S.C., in September 1989. Gusts over 100 mph were recorded in Charlotte in that storm, according to the National Weather Service. In 1999, Hurricane Floyd made landfall at Cape Fear, N.C, as a Category 2 hurricane with 105 mph winds, the NWS reported.