Imelda erupted into a hurricane just off the coast of Florida Tuesday morning, as meteorologists believe a rare weather phenomenon will save several states from disaster.

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) declared that Tropical Storm Imelda reached Category 1 hurricane status at 8am ET, building up sustained winds of more than 75 mph.

There are now two hurricanes, Imelda and Humberto, sitting just off the East Coast , roughly 500 miles apart from each other.

Their close proximity has triggered a rare weather event known as the Fujiwhara Effect, which takes place when two tropical cyclones get close enough that they begin to influence each other's path and strength.

In this case, meteorologists believe the much larger Hurricane Humberto has begun to pull Imelda closer to it in the Atlantic, yanking it away from the Southeast just before it was due to make landfall.

Just days ago, storm models had warned of Imelda making landfall in Florida, Georgia, or the Carolinas at hurricane strength, potentially bringing devastating floods to millions.

However, this rare double hurricane is now projected to be more of a rain event for the East Coast, which could still pose several dangers to coastal communities.

Forecasters have warned that coastal areas from Florida to Virginia still face a high risk of tropical wind and rain over the next two weeks, while rough surf, rip currents, and coastal flooding is still a concern through the weekend.

Imelda is now projected to make a sharp turn east, heading straight for Bermuda and making landfall by Thursday.

On Tuesday, however, Imelda will still be close enough to the US to deliver heavy rains in the Carolinas, with up to four inches predicted along the coast of North and South Carolina.

Meteorologists have said that this last-second save by Hurricane Humberto is a historic event during the Atlantic hurricane season. 

AccuWeather lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said: 'This is a case where the rare Fujiwhara Effect will help steer Imelda away from the US.'

Florida meteorologist Bryan Bennett added that Fujiwhara Effect is expected to turn Hurricane Imelda just 150 miles from the coast South Carolina.

'This will be one of the only times in history that a HURRICANE has prevented another HURRICANE from striking the US,' Bennett posted on X.

The Fujiwhara Effect is rarely seen during the Atlantic hurricane season, with AccuWeather reporting that the last time two storms interacted like this was Hurricanes Matthew and Nicole in 2016.

Tropical storms and hurricanes start to 'feel' each other's presence when they get within 900 miles of each other, potentially combining to form larger hurricanes or spinning each other in unpredictable directions.

While the threat from Imelda and Humberto is expected to fade over the next week, forecasters have warned that it's too early to let your guard down.

The US is currently in the historic peak of hurricane season, which traditionally lasts from September 10 through the middle of October.

AccuWeather senior meteorologist Chad Merrill has been tracking this double hurricane and told the Daily Mail more could still be on the way.

'We'll probably see a couple of more storms develop between now and the end of the hurricane season,' Merrill said.

'We'll probably see a couple of more in October as well. So, people need to be on guard all the way through the end of the hurricane season,' the 22-year veteran forecaster added.

Imelda became the fourth hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season, which is still below the pace predicted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) this spring.

NOAA experts warned that 2025 could end up producing more named storms than the US East Coast saw last year, when there were 18 named weather events.

With two months to go in hurricane season, Imelda is only the ninth named storm to form in the Atlantic.

While none of the four hurricanes to this point have made landfall in the US, this season has already been historic, with both Hurricanes Erin and Humberto reaching Category 5, the most severe level of tropical cyclone.

According to Matt Devitt of WINK News in Southwest Florida, it's the first time in over 90 years that there has been multiple Category 5 storms in back-to-back years during the Atlantic hurricane season.