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Close Calls for the Carolinas and Puerto Rico from Two Tropical Systems

Hurricane Beryl will be approaching the Lesser Antilles this weekend, while a new tropical storm is likely to form off the coast of North Carolina. Beryl is forecast to weaken in the Caribbean, but still could move close to Puerto Rico as a tropical storm Monday. Soon-to-be Tropical Storm Chris could also become a hurricane by early next week, but is likely to be a just a menace to the Mid-Atlantic states and stay offshore.

“Brazen” Beryl Barreling West

The season's first hurricane continued to move briskly to the west Friday. Satellite data suggests the tiny storm is staying in tact, and despite sooner calls for weakening, Beryl is now forecast to remain a hurricane on its approach to the Lesser Antilles Sunday. A Hurricane Watch has been issued for Dominica, and Tropical Storm Watches are in effect for Martinique, Guadeloupe, St. Martin, and St. Barthelemy.

Beryl is still forecast to weaken considerably in the Caribbean early next week as it encounters more hostile upper-level conditions. Strong winds aloft and low atmospheric moisture are expected to cause the storm to eventually degenerate into a tropical wave as it moves near or just south of Hispaniola and Cuba by the middle of next week. However, it might still come close enough to Puerto Rico to produce tropical storm force winds and heavy rain.

The National Hurricane Center labeled the storm as "brazen" and continues to emphasize the lower-than-normal levels of confidence in their forecast intensity for Hurricane Beryl, largely attributing the challenges to the small nature of the storm.

Chris to Be a Carolina Menace

The National Hurricane Center began their advisories on Tropical Depression Three Friday afternoon, stating that it was very likely to strengthen into a tropical storm by Saturday. The developing system was located 250 miles east of Wilmington, North Carolina and only crawling north-northwest at 5 mph.

Soon-to-be Tropical Storm Chris is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane by early next week, but remain mostly stationary until Tuesday. Thereafter, Chris is expected to turn to the northeast and move away from land. Although the storm system is likely to remain offshore, unsettled ocean waters and adverse boating conditions will be possible in the Mid-Atlantic states through much of next week.

Neither a Direct Threat to Florida

Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Chris are not expected to be a direct or significant threat to the State of Florida. However, it is possible that some of the ocean swells from Chris might result in an elevated rip current risk along the state's Atlantic beaches early next week. Later in the week, it is also entirely possible that the remnant moisture from Beryl would lead to higher rain chances across portions of South Florida by Thursday or Friday.

Copyright 2018 WUFT 89.1

Jeff Huffman is Chief Meteorologist at the University of Florida in Gainesville. In addition to his full-time position at the university's radio and television stations, WUFT-FM/TV and WRUF-TV, the latter of which he co-founded, Huffman also provides weather coverage to public radio stations throughout Florida