The tenth named storm of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season, Julia developed from a tropical wave near the coast of east-central Florida on September 13.

Despite moving inland, the cyclone intensified into a tropical storm, shortly before strengthening further to reach maximum sustained winds of 50 mph (85 km/h).

Due to Julia's asymmetrical structure and fairly weak intensity, the storm caused generally minor wind and flooding damage in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina.

[1] The National Hurricane Center (NHC) did not begin monitoring the system in its Tropical Weather Outlooks until a concentrated area of low pressure developed about 350 mi (560 km) east of the Leeward Islands on September 8.

Once designated as a tropical storm, Julia reached its peak intensity of 50 mph (85 km/h) while inland,[1] At 03:00 UTC on September 14, the NHC initiated advisories on Julia – which was then centered near Jacksonville – and initially predicted that the storm would move north-northwestward and become extratropical or a remnant low pressure area over Georgia by September 16.

[1] Julia consisted of mainly a low-level swirl of clouds by late on September 16; however, minimal convection kept the storm at the minimum requirements for a tropical cyclone.

Florida governor Rick Scott urged residents to prepare in case an evacuation became necessary and to dump standing water to control mosquitoes that could be carrying the Zika virus.

[8] Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry released a statement telling those in the path of the storm to stay off the roadways due to the rain and wind and potential flash flooding.

[9] In Florida, the storm produced wind gusts of 30 to 48 mph (48 to 77 km/h) along the First Coast, causing some structural damage,[10] including ripping apart the roof of a Chevron gas station in Neptune Beach and carrying it over two blocks before dropping it.

[9] While Julia was still in its precursor stages as it paralleled the coast of Florida, an EF0 tornado was reported and later confirmed in the areas of Barefoot Bay, with sustained winds as high as 85 mph (137 km/h).

[12] On September 22, then-Governor Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency for Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Halifax, Hertford, Northampton, Pasquotank, and Perquimans.

Numerous roads were washed out in several counties and independent cities, including Chesapeake, Franklin, Isle of Wight, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Southampton, Suffolk, and Virginia Beach.

[12] Farther north, the remnants of the storm interacted with a frontal boundary, resulting in heavy rainfall in some portions of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.