Tropical Storm Imelda forms near Bahamas and is expected to become a hurricane in coming days

MIAMI (AP) — Tropical Storm Imelda formed Sunday and is expected to become a hurricane on a forecast track curving away from the U.S. East Coast early this week. The storm dumped rain and churned up seas near the Bahamas and Cuba and even briefly prompted a tropical storm watch on a stretch of Florida's Atlantic coast.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Humberto weakened slightly but remained a powerful Category 4 storm further out in the Atlantic, potentially threatening Bermuda. The Bermuda Weather Service issued a tropical storm watch, meaning tropical storm conditions were possible on the island within 48 hours.

At about 8 p.m. EDT, Imelda was about 30 miles (45 kilometers) southeast of the northwest Bahamas and about 355 miles (570 km) southeast of Cape Canaveral in Brevard County, Florida, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Imelda was headed north at 9 mph (15 kph), bearing top sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph). The hurricane center said the storm was expected to move across the central and northwestern Bahamas through Sunday night and then spin east-northeast away from the southeastern U.S. by midweek.

A tropical storm watch for the east coast of Florida from the Palm Beach-Martin County Line to the Flagler-Volusia County Line was discontinued Sunday afternoon. But the hurricane center urged people on the southeast U.S. coast to monitor Imelda's progress.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster also urged vigilance, although coastal Georgetown County said it was returning to normal operations because of an improving forecast for that area.

“What we learn every time is we never know where they are going to go,” McMaster said at a news conference to discuss emergency preparations. “This storm is deadly serious. Not just serious. Deadly serious."

The South Carolina governor added that Imelda could bring high winds, heavy rain, and flooding to his state, and authorities there were prepositioning search and rescue crews over the weekend.

In North Carolina, Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency even before Tropical Storm Imelda formed.

Humberto, though slightly weakened, was still a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph (230 kph) with higher gusts, the center said Sunday evening. Humberto was centered about 450 miles (730 kilometers) south of Bermuda and moving northwestward at 13 mph (20 kph).

Dangerous surf will affect Bermuda and most of the U.S. East Coast this week, the center said. The hurricane is expected to gradually turn north over the next day or two before accelerating east-northeast by late Tuesday or early Wednesday. Humberto's intensity could fluctuate in coming days before weakening but was forecast to remain a dangerous major hurricane over the next couple of days.

Alison Dagostino moved to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, six years ago with her four children and husband. She experienced her first hurricane within days of moving into the area.

She said other than basic storm preparations such as buying batteries and storm-proofing windows, people were going about their lives normally on Sunday.

“People are still out and about. People are still walking on the beach,” Dagostino said.

Imelda, meanwhile, was threatening parts of Cuba and the Bahamas with heavy rainfall and flash flooding. Portions of the Bahamas were under a tropical storm warning.

The Bahamas’ Department of Meteorology said moderate to heavy rains would continue over the northwest and central islands, including Nassau, Andros Island, San Salvador and Long Island. Rainfall could top between 6 inches (15 centimeters) and 12 inches (30 centimeters), with up to 10 inches (25 centimeters) in isolated spots.

“Residents in low-lying areas should take actions to mitigate property damages due to flooding,” the department said in a statement.

Sunday’s storm surge was expected to raise water levels up to 3 feet (.9 meters) above normal tide along the coasts of the Abaco Islands, the north and east coasts of Grand Bahama, and all nearby cays.

The usually busy streets and seaside of New Providence Island were deserted Sunday as light but constant rain started to flood roads. Choppy sea water and gusts also kept tourists and residents away from the popular Potter’s Cay Dock in Nassau.

Flights to and from the islands have been canceled, with airports expected to reopen after weather conditions improve.

The National Weather Service in Puerto Rico warned inexperienced mariners and smaller boats against heading out over hazardous waters Sunday, with swells from Humberto forecast to reach between 7 and 8 feet (2-2.4 meters) in Atlantic waters.

In the Dominican Republic, where weather conditions on Friday forced the evacuation of hundreds of people, meteorologists on Sunday expected moderate showers, thunderstorms and gusts in some inland areas. The Dominican Institute of Meteorology said in a statement that other areas including the capital, Santo Domingo, would only see scattered showers.

Tropical Storm Narda was rapidly weakening and is expected to become a post-tropical storm by Sunday evening or Monday.

Narda, formerly a hurricane, is affecting coastal Mexico and Baja California Sur, forecasters said, and life-threatening surf and rip current conditions are possible in Southern California. No coastal watches or warnings were in effect midday Sunday.

Frisaro reported from Miami. Associated Press writers Safiyah Riddle in Montgomery, Alabama, and Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela contributed to this story.

This GOES-19 GeoColor satellite image taken Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025 and provided by NOAA, shows weather systems in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. (NOAA via AP)

This satellite image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Humberto on Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025. (NOAA via AP)

This NOAA satellite image taken at 11:39 a.m. EST on Thursday, Sept. 25, 2025, shows Hurricane Narda in the North Pacific Ocean. (NOAA via AP)

This satellite image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Humberto on Friday, Sept. 26, 2025. (NOAA via AP)

ROME (AP) — Italy’s conservative Premier Giorgia Meloni faces a pivotal political test in a two-day referendum on judicial reform that starts Sunday, a vote that has transformed into a broader judgment on her leadership at home and abroad.

Originally presented as a technical overhaul of the justice system, the reform has sharpened political divisions and unified the center‑left opposition, turning the referendum into a symbolic showdown on Meloni’s strength one year ahead of national elections.

Recent polls show the race remains too close to call, with the “No” camp gaining late momentum in a polarized climate where turnout may prove decisive.

Lorenzo Pregliasco, political analyst and polling expert at YouTrend, said a rejection of the reform would carry significant political weight.

“A possible ‘No’ victory would send a political signal, weakening Meloni’s aura of invincibility, while pushing the center-left opposition to say that there is already an alternative in the country,” he told The Associated Press.

Meloni initially avoided tying her image too closely to the referendum, wary of the danger that a defeat could weaken her domestically and abroad.

She currently presides over Italy’s most stable government in years, after gaining credibility among her European allies as a charismatic leader. A referendum win would further strengthen her tenure at home, alongside her international standing.

That's why, as the vote neared and polls tightened, the Italian premier shifted strategy and fully embraced the “Yes” campaign.

Meloni has sharpened her rhetoric, accusing parts of the judiciary of hindering government work on migration and security, and warning that failure to pass the reform would strengthen unaccountable judicial “factions” and endanger citizens’ safety.

“If the reform doesn’t pass this time, we will probably not have another chance,” she said at a campaign event last week. “We will find ourselves with even more powerful factions, even more negligent judges, even more surreal sentences, immigrants, rapists, pedophiles, drug dealers being freed and putting your security at risk.”

Her stark warnings have drawn fierce criticism from magistrates and the center-left, who argue that the reforms would erode judicial independence and undermine constitutional guarantees.

Analysts say the referendum carries international implications as well.

Meloni's long standing alignment with U.S. President Donald Trump, once politically advantageous, has become increasingly problematic as his foreign policy — particularly the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran — faces growing disapproval among Italians.

“Meloni is facing what I would call the ‘Trump risk’ — which is appearing too subservient to the U.S. president, who is an extremely unpopular political leader in Italy and the rest of Europe and generates a lot of distrust, even among center-right voters,” Pregliasco said.

A defeat in the referendum would not force Meloni to resign — her mandate runs through 2027 and she repeatedly pledged to complete it — but could diminish her credibility within the European Union, where she is viewed as a stabilizing actor in an often politically volatile environment.

The referendum centers on long debated reforms aimed at reshaping the structure of Italy’s judiciary.

A key measure includes separating the career paths of judges and prosecutors, preventing them from switching roles — something that is currently allowed but rarely practiced.

Another major change concerns the High Judicial Council, which oversees magistrates’ appointments and disciplinary matters. The reform proposes splitting it into three separate chambers and altering how members are chosen, replacing internal elections with selections by lottery from eligible judges and prosecutors.

The clash between Italy’s right-wing leaders and magistrates has punctuated Italian politics, exploding during the governments of late conservative leader Silvio Berlusconi, who was one of the staunchest supporters of the judicial reform.

Supporters argue the changes will modernize an infamously slow court system and enhance accountability. But critics, including prominent magistrates, say the reform misses the real priorities while threatening the judiciary’s independence.

Nicola Gratteri, Naples’ chief prosecutor and a long time anti-Mafia magistrate, offered one of the most pointed rebukes.

“I don’t think this government has implemented the reforms needed to make trials work more effectively," he told the AP. “Instead, it has made it virtually impossible to combat crimes against the public administration and to tackle white-collar abuse and corruption.”

As Italians prepare to vote, the referendum stands as one of the defining moments of Meloni’s premiership — a choice that could reshape not only the justice system but also the trajectory of her government, regardless of the outcome.

A nun votes in a referendum on judicial reform, at a polling station in Turin, Italy, Sunday March 22, 2026. (Daniele Solavaggione/LaPresse via AP)

A woman arrives to vote in a referendum on judicial reform, at a polling station in Milan, Italy, Sunday March 22, 2026. (Marco Ottico/Lapresse via AP)

A man passes next to election posters as Italian citizens will be called on March 22th and 23th to approve or reject the constitutional reform of the judicial system introduced by the Meloni government, through a referendum that does not require a minimum voter turnout, in Milan, Italy, Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Italian premier Giorgia Meloni speaks about the upcoming referendum on a judicial reform during the RAI state television program Cinque minuti (Five Minutes), in Rome, Friday, March 20, 2026. Writing on placard on screen reads in Italian "Superior Council of Magistracy" (Roberto Monaldo /LaPresse via AP)

A man passes next to election posters as Italian citizens will be called on March 22th and 23th to approve or reject the constitutional reform of the judicial system introduced by the Meloni government, through a referendum that does not require a minimum voter turnout, in Milan, Italy, Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, center, speaks with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, left, during a group photo at an EU summit in Brussels, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Italian premier Giorgia Meloni speaks about the upcoming referendum on a judicial reform during the RAI state television program Cinque minuti (Five Minutes), in Rome, Friday, March 20, 2026. (Roberto Monaldo /LaPresse via AP)