North Carolina warily watching 2 tropical weather systems

Regarding both of these depressions, whichever becomes a tropical storm first will be named Hermine.

The depression’s maximum sustained winds early Monday are near 35 miles per hour (55 kph) with some strengthening expected during the next two days.

Forecasters expect the tropical depression to strengthen slightly as it approaches the North Carolina coast, though it is not expected to reach hurricane strength before it crosses the coast and weakens.

At 5 p.m. Monday, the center of Tropical Depression Nine was located near latitude 24.0 North, longitude 84.8 West.

The system was moving to the west at 9 miles per hour.

The system will funnel heavy rain across much of central and southern Florida this week, which could lead to flash flooding. A newly formed tropical system, sitting between Bermuda and the Tar Heel state will make a close brush with the Outer Banks on Monday and Tuesday.

Though no longer a threat to directly strike South Florida, the effects of Tropical Depression Nine are expected to be felt over the next few days as the storm gathers steam in the Gulf of Mexico.

The depression is now moving west at around 7 miles per hour, although it is forecast to turn in a west-northwest direction today and then head north on Tuesday night. In addition, there is also Atlantic’s first major hurricane of the season, Gaston, which is no threat to land.

“We will continue to monitor this storm and stand ready to respond to any impacts this system has on Florida communities”, said FDEM director Bryan Koon.

Forecasters say Gaston has strengthened a little more and that a tropical storm warning has been issued for a portion of the North Carolina coast.

USA forecasters issued a tropical storm warning for coastal North Carolina on Monday, while another system churning in the Gulf of Mexico could make landfall in Florida later in the week.

The Global Precipitation Measurement mission or GPM core satellite analyzed Tropical Depression 9 after formed in the Gulf of Mexico after a slow crawl over the last week.

After flying through the storm Sunday afternoon, hurricane hunters found a well-defined center and an increase in convection around the storm with winds at 35 miles per hour. However, if the turn northeast occurs further north and the center tracks across south Georgia, then we would be in line for heavier rain amounts and stronger winds.

Another area of tropical interest this week is Hawaii.