Tropical Storm Chantal may form on Saturday; tropical rain likely in North Carolina, July 4 Update Beach weather may be stormy in the Carolinas for the rest of the holiday weekend.

WEATHER GOING INTO OUR SATURDAY, CHRIS, BUT NOW WE’RE TALKING ABOUT TROPICAL ACTIVITY. THIS IS TROPICAL DEPRESSION THREE, AND AS OF THE 11:00 UPDATE, IT IS STILL MOVING TO THE NORTH EAST. WELL IT’S BECOME STATIONARY NOW, BUT IT WAS MOVING VERY SLOWLY AT ABOUT TWO MILES AN HOUR. SO IT’S JUST SITTING AND SPINNING OVER THE ATLANTIC. IN FACT, SITTING OVER THE GULF STREAM. AND THAT’S WARM WATER ABOUT 85 DEGREES WARMTH. AND THAT IS GOING TO HELP TO FUEL THE STORM A LITTLE BIT MORE BEFORE IT MAKES ITS LANDFALL, LIKELY OVER THE CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, COASTLINE. WE HAVE SUSTAINED WINDS AT 35 MILES AN HOUR. SO IT’S GOING TO TAKE JUST A FEW MORE MILES AN HOUR AND SOME BETTER ORGANIZATION TO SEE THE STORM BECOME A TROPICAL STORM. CHANTAL. BUT THAT HAPPENS BY EARLY TOMORROW MORNING. SEE THIS TRACK? IT TAKES IT OVER CHARLESTON. THEN BY SUNDAY EVENING, IT’S MOVING OVER NORTH CAROLINA INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS ON MONDAY. NOW, MOST OF THAT ACTIVITY IS GOING TO FALL TO THE NORTH AND EAST ON THIS CURRENT TRACK. BUT IT DOES LOOK LIKE THE FOLKS AT THE BEACHES ARE GOING TO SEE THE BRUNT OF THIS SYSTEM. HEAVY RAIN, SOME HIGH SURF. A LOT OF FOLKS, THOUGH NOT AS WORRIED ABOUT THE STORM BECAUSE IT DOESN’T HAVE A LOT OF TIME TO GAIN STRENGTH OR ORGANIZE. AND IN FACT, IT’S GOING TO HIT LAND BEFORE IT HAS A CHANCE TO REALLY DO THAT. SO SPOTTY POWER OUTAGES ARE GOING TO BE POSSIBLE. THIS SHOULD BE ON A LOWER SCALE FOR US IN TERMS OF IMPACTS, NOT ONLY AT THE BEACHES BUT ALSO INLAND. SO WHEN WE’RE TALKING ABOUT TROPICAL IMPACTS IN THE PIEDMONT TRIAD, WE’RE REALLY LOOKING AT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS. WE’RE NOT EVEN UNDER SEVERE THUNDERSTORM RISKS AT THIS POINT. NOW THAT COULD CHANGE. BUT IT DOES LOOK LIKE WE’RE GOING TO GET AWAY WITH A PRETTY DECENT SYSTEM TO KIND OF BLOW THROUGH AND GET OUT OF HERE BY EARLY MONDAY MORNING. NOW, HOTTER HIGHS NEXT WEEK AS WE TALK ABOUT SOME 90S TAKING A LOOK AT THE NEXT TWO DAYS THOUGH, WE HAVE SOME SUNSHINE ON SATURDAY. WE’VE GOT YOU AT 80 IN THE MOUNTAINS, 87 IN THE FOOTHILLS AND 88 ON SATURDAY. NOTICE ON SUNDAY YOUR STORM CHANCES ARE RISING. YOU HAVE THE LOWEST STORM CHANCE IN THE MOUNTAINS WHERE YOU’RE FARTHER WEST FROM THE SYSTEM. BUT TROPICAL IMPACTS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE FOOTHILLS, TOO, WITH 87, A FEW SCATTERED SHOWERS AND STORMS FROM ABOUT 11 IN THE MORNING THROUGH 11:00 AT NIGHT. AND THOSE TEMPERATURES MAY COME DOWN EVEN MORE DEPENDING ON HOW FAR EAST THE SYSTEM IS. ONE OF OUR FORECAST MODELS HAS BEEN TRENDING IN TO BRING IN SOME SHOWERS AND STORMS AS EARLY AS 7 A.M. ON SUNDAY. THE BULK OF THE RAIN, THOUGH, WOULD BE IN THE EASTERN TRIAD ON THIS CURRENT TRACK, SO WE CAN GET SOME OF THOSE BANDS ROLLING THROUGH, BUT RAINFALL TOTALS MAY NOT EVEN BE VERY STRONG. WE’VE GOT 15 TO 20 MILE AN HOUR WINDS, MAYBE SOME GUSTS UP TO 30 IF WE’RE LUCKY, IF WE CAN EVEN GET THAT GOING. BUT WE’LL NOTICE A COUPLE OF HEAVY DOWNPOURS. REMEMBER THIS IS TROPICAL MOISTURE. SO EVEN IF WE GET 1 OR 2 STORMS, IT COULD REALLY DROP SOME HEAVY DOWNPOURS IN A FEW SPOTS. IT’S JUST LIMITED TO SOME OF THOSE AREAS THAT MAY GET NONE RIGHT. WE MIGHT NOT SEE A WHOLE LOT. SO SCATTERED RAIN AND GUSTS WE COULD SEE EARLY MORNING UP UNTIL ABOUT 11:00 ON OUR SUNDAY NIGHT. GUSTS 15 TO 25 MILES AN HOUR. REALLY AT TOPS, WE BELIEVE. AND THEN BRIEF HEAVY RAIN, SOME PONDING ON THE ROADWAYS, HYDROPLANING CONDITIONS, BUT WE DON’T EVEN LOOK AT FLOODING CONCERNS AT THIS POINT. SO WE LIKE THIS TREND TO BRING IN A LITTLE BIT OF RAIN THAT IS MUCH NEEDED AFTER A COUPLE OF DRY DAYS. SO TEMPERATURES IN THE UPPER 70S NOW DOWN TO 69, IN HIGH POINT, AFTER A DAY OF UPPER 80S THERE, AND ALMOST NEAR 90. SO 89 DEGREES HIT HIGHS TODAY IN THE GREENSBORO AREA, JUST ABOUT WHERE WE SHOULD BE FOR JULY. TAKE A LOOK. 67 DEGREES WARMING TO 88 DEGREES ON YOUR SATURDAY IN THE FOOTHILLS. MOUNT AIRY, ELKIN YADKINVILLE. PRETTY COMFORTABLE. GOT YOU UP TO 87. WE’LL STACK UP THOSE CLOUDS LATER. WE GO THROUGH THE AFTERNOON AS A TROPICAL SYSTEM BEGINS TO INTENSIFY AND GETS CLOSER TO THE COASTLINE. IT WILL KICK IN SOME TROPICAL MOISTURE EVENTUALLY, SO CLOUD COVER TWO IN THE MOUNTAINS. BUT A JUST A BEAUTIFUL DAY AND WE HAVE HIGHS NEAR 80 DEGREES, ESPECIALLY ON THOSE EASTERN SLOPES IN SPARTA AREAS. HERE’S THE HOUR BY HOUR FORECAST, GIVING YOU ANOTHER VIEW OF WHERE WE MAY SEE THE SYSTEM GO. YOU CAN SEE THE SPIN HERE, AND MAYBE A JOG TO THE WEST, BUT SOME OF THOSE RAINS LIKELY STAYING MOSTLY TO THE NORTH AND EAST OF THE PIEDMONT TRIAD, COULD GET A COUPLE OF ROUNDS OF SCATTERED ACTIVITY WITH SOME HEAVY DOWNPOURS ON SUNDAY, BUT IT DOES LOOK LIKE IT’S GOING TO BE A SHORT LIVED SYSTEM. THE MOUNTAIN TEMPERATURES TO AT ABOUT 80 DEGREES ON SATURDAY TO NEAR 79 SUNDAY. BUT YOU NOTICE A TREND. WE WARM UP EVEN AS WE TALK ABOUT SCATTERED STORMS NEXT WEEK, WE’LL STILL SEE 90 FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. BACK TO THE UPPER 80S. ON THURSDAY, A SCATTERED STORM CHANCES RAMP UP ONCE AGAIN. ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR WEEKEND, BUT WE’LL BE TALKING ABOUT THAT SYSTEM. POSSIBLY TROPICAL STORM CHANTAL,