Tropical storm warnings extended up to North Carolina as Chantal approaches

Tropical storm warnings were extended up to Surf City, North Carolina, as Tropical Storm Chantal churned off the coast of the southeastern U.S. on Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Center.

As of 2 a.m. on Sunday, the storm was slightly stronger than it had been hours earlier, with its maximum sustained winds increased to 60 mph as it moved north at about 8 mph.

Chantal’s center was located at that hour about 75 miles east-northeast of Charleston, South Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms from Chantal’s outer bands were impacting portions of the South and North Carolina coastline Saturday evening, along with increasing rough surf and dangerous rip currents.

Conditions will continue to deteriorate in the coming hours as the storm nears the coast. Little additional change in strength is expected prior to landfall, which will likely occur before sunrise.

Tropical storm conditions were expected to begin Saturday evening for portions of the Carolina coastline from South Santee River to Surf City, where the Tropical Storm Warning is in effect.

Heavy rainfall across the coastal Carolinas will cause some flash flooding through Monday, with storm total rainfall of 2 to 4 inches and local amounts up to 6 inches expected for the Carolinas.

Chantal will bring minor storm surge for parts of the Carolina coastline, with between 1 to 3 feet of storm surge possible for coastal areas under the Tropical Storm Warning.

The system is also expected to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents along parts of the East Coast from northeastern Florida to the Mid-Atlantic states over the next couple of days.

The third named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season forms on average around Aug. 3, according to the National Hurricane Center.