Tropical storm aims for the Carolinas. Heavy rain, gusty winds expected Monday

Update (Monday 11 a.m.): You can find the latest coastal storm forecast here .

The National Hurricane Center has issued tropical storm warnings for the Carolinas, from Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to Ocracoke Inlet. That includes Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Wilmington and Morehead City.

Forecasters expect the storm to come ashore Monday, though they cautioned that they remained uncertain about its exact path. Bands of heavy rain were already pelting the Myrtle Beach area and Brunswick County in southeastern North Carolina on Sunday evening.

The storm is expected to dump 2 to 4 inches of rain in the Piedmont and Sandhills and as many as 8 inches on the coastal plain. The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for eastern South Carolina and most of central and eastern North Carolina from late Sunday through Tuesday morning.

The weather service said flash flooding was possible, particularly in urban areas and places that drain poorly. Excessive runoff could cause creeks, streams and eventually rivers to jump their banks as well.

Scattered power outages are also possible as are isolated tornadoes.

The hurricane center referred to the storm as “potential tropical cyclone eight.” If and when it becomes a tropical storm, it will be named Helene.

Tropical Storm Gordon, which formed in the middle of the Atlantic last week, has weakened to a tropical depression and does not appear to pose any threat to land.