Slideshow ( 2 images ) (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Chris is expected to develop to hurricane strength on Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory. The storm was about 210 miles (340 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h), the Miami-based weather forecaster said. Chris is expected to gain additional strength on Wednesday, the NHC said.<doc-sep>5am Update from @NHC_Atlantic on #Chris Still a tropical storm, could become a Hurricane later today. Slowly beginning to move away to the NE. #ncwx pic.twitter.com/0x5Jf8BxKm — Don Schwenneker (@BigweatherABC11) July 10, 2018 EMBED >More News Videos With hurricane season upon us, NOAA released a list of the most vulnerable cities. AccuWeather takes a look. Tropical Storm Chris continues to spin not far off the North Carolina coast and is currently centered roughly 200 miles to the south-southeast of Cape Hatteras.Tropical Storm Chris continues to intensify and has maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, just shy of hurricane force.The storm is finally starting to move. The latest update shows it now starting to move to the northeast at roughly 2 mph.The storm remains in an environment that will continue to gradually strengthen it as it is centered over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream.By late Monday, Chris is expected to intensify into a hurricane as it continues to become better organized.Chris will remain offshore over the next several days, accelerating away from the United States later this week.By Thursday and Friday, Chris will bring heavy rain and gusty winds to portions of Atlantic Canada.While Chris is not expected to directly impact land over the next few days, rough surf and dangerous rip currents will continue to impact coastal areas of the Carolinas, mid-Atlantic and the Northeast through the rest of this week.Tropical Rainstorm Beryl is mostly an open tropical wave with no closed low-level center of circulation. The system is quickly moving west-northwest at 20-25 mph across the northern Caribbean.Rain amounts of 1-2 inches with localized amounts of 4-6 inches can lead to localized flash flooding and mudslides.Wind gusts of 40-60 mph may produce isolated power outages and minor tree damage, mainly over Guadeloupe and/or Dominica.<doc-sep>Tropical Storm Chris's path through the Gulf Stream top stories direct to your inbox SUBSCRIBE Invalid email Sign up to receive our rundown of the day'sdirect to your inbox When you subscribe we will use the information you provide to send you these newsletters. Sometimes they'll include recommendations for other related newsletters or services we offer. Our Privacy Notice explains more about how we use your data, and your rights. You can unsubscribe at any time. Located around 200 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras in North Carolina, Storm Chris has sustained top winds of 60mph (95kph) according to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC). Storm Chris was upgraded from Tropical Depression Three to Tropical Storm less than 48 hours after the first named hurricane, Beryl, appeared. This is the first tropical cyclone to be called "Chris" which has developed in July. The most recent named storm Chris was Hurricane Chris in 2012. Hurricane Chris was an unprecedented storm in that it was only the second hurricane to stretch as far north in June as it did. The current Tropical Storm Chris is growing in size and strength as it passes over the warm Gulf Stream waters. According to the NHC, Storm Chris will be categorised as a hurricane at some point today. In an advisory, the NHC said: “Strengthening is expected during the next couple of days, and Chris is forecast to become a hurricane late today or tonight.” Hurricane Beryl becomes first storm of Atlantic season Will Tropical Storm Chris hit Florida? As the storm intensifies and moves towards hurricane status, seas along the coast of North Carolina and neighbouring coastal states will become rough. The Tropical Storm will be causing increased swells off the coast of North Carolina and mid-Atlantic states which “could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions". It could cause conditions too dangerous for beach-goers and cruise ships may have to alter routes in order to avoid treacherous seas. Weather forecasters are predicting Tropical Storm Chris becomes a hurricane Nearby drenching rainfalls and thunderstorms could cause disruption to summer plans across eastern North Carolina into at least Tuesday. The most persistent downpours may cause isolated flash flooding. However, the NHC has said that Storm Chris “does not currently pose a risk to land". Whilst seas will suffer, becoming rough as Storm Chris continues to grow in strength, it may be swept away from land entirely. Hurricane Aletta path MAPS: Category 3 hurricane forms near Mexico Fri, June 8, 2018 Hurricane Aletta 2018: Maps show the predicted path and winds speeds of tropical storm near Mexico. Play slideshow National Hurricane Center 1 of 12 The National Hurricane Center revealed maps showing Hurricane Aletta<doc-sep>WILMINGTON, N.C. -- Tropical Storm Chris has prompted warnings to swimmers and surfers in South Carolina and is expected to become a hurricane overnight. The National Weather Service does not have any tropical storm or hurricane warnings in effect, but forecasters said swimming could be dangerous in South Carolina's Georgetown and Horry counties. The weather service said current conditions could create currents than can sweep swimmers and surfers into rip currents or piers and jetties. This graphic from the National Hurricane Center shows the projected path of Tropical Storm Chris. National Hurricane Center At 5 p.m., Chris was about 215 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 60 mph. The storm is expected to be stationary and little motion is expected for the next day or so. It is expected to move northeast on Wednesday and Thursday.<doc-sep>
Tropical Storm Chris, the third named storm of this season, is forecast to become a hurricane by Monday, according to the National Hurricane Center. The tropical storm, which was named Sunday morning, is expected to continue gaining strength as it hovers over the Gulf stream’s warm waters in the Atlantic Ocean, AccuWeather.com reports. Chris formed off the coast of North Carolina on Friday and is currently about 160 miles off the coast of Cape Hatteras. It has been a mostly stationary storm so far, sustaining maximum wind speeds close to 45 mph, but is expected to remain “well offshore” of the U.S. coast. The winds extend at least 60 miles from the eye of the storm. “Swells generated by Chris are expected to increase and affect portions of the coasts of North Carolina and the mid-Atlantic states into early next week,” the NHC says. Chris is not expected to move over the next two or three days as it develops into a hurricane and there are no coastal warnings or watches in affect, according to the NHC. Still, Chris will “stir rough seas” along the central East Coast with heavy rains, thunderstorms and flash flooding also possible, AccuWeather.com forecasts. Residents of affected areas should be aware of possible danger. A man died on Saturday in rough waters in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, according to AccuWeather.com. “The more likely scenario is that the storm gets swept away from the Northeast at midweek,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski reported, and will ultimately head towards Nova Scotia or Newfoundland. The first hurricane of the 2018 season, Beryl, was downgraded to a tropical storm on Saturday and is tracking in the general direction of Puerto Rico. Forecasters have warned that this year’s hurricane season may be worse than usual. Contact us at letters@time.com.