Tropical Storm Gordon formed Friday morning in the Atlantic Friday, and forecasters are watching two other systems — including one that could develop just off the U.S. coast.
North Carolina is likely to get some rain and wind from the disturbance off the coast, even if it doesn’t become a tropical storm.
Here’s what we need to know.
Where is Tropical Storm Gordon?
Friday morning, that storm was in the central Atlantic more than 700 miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands off the coast of Africa. It was moving to the west-northwest at 12 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center . The storm had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph in late morning, meteorologists said.
Hurricane Center forecasters said the storm is expected to move generally west-northwest for next two to three days, slowing its movement some as it interacts with a subtropical ridge to its north.
After that, international models predicting what the storm will do are split, forecasters say, with some showing it continuing to the west and others showing it turning to the north, which would keep it away from land.
The Hurricane Center said the storm likely will weaken some as it moves into dryer air this weekend, but might slowly regain some strength next week.
What about the other disturbance off the U.S. coast?
The Hurricane Center described the other disturbance Thursday as an area of non-tropical low-pressure that has a small chance of developing into a more organized system over the next week as it interacts with a stationary front. That system stretches along the Southeast Coast from Georgia to North Carolina.
Even if it doesn’t become more organized, forecasters said , the system could bring gale-force winds along the N.C. coast and rough seas from Sunday through Tuesday . Showers and thunderstorms should be expected Friday and Saturday, forecasters said.
Sunday, wind gusts up to 40 mph are possible along the N.C. coast all the way from Cape Hatteras to Cape Fear, and seas could run 10 to 13 feet, the National Weather Service said.
Will the Triangle get rain this weekend?
The National Weather Service forecast for Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill is for partly to mostly cloudy skies Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a chance of showers each day .
Saturday could be windy, with gusts of 18 mph to 20 mph, forecasters say.
High temperatures across the region will be near 80 degrees.
Another system near the Leeward Islands
The Hurricane Center’s forecast map also shows a low-pressure system a few hundred miles east of the Leeward Islands that’s producing showers and thunderstorms. However, forecasters say, dry air nearby is likely to limit that system’s chances for development over the weekend.
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