(AP) — Tropical Storm Chris currently has maximum-sustained winds of 70 mph, just shy of hurricane force. Chris remains mostly stationary well east of the South Carolina coast, centered roughly 200 miles to the south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
The storm remains in an environment conducive for gradual strengthening, including warm water and low vertical wind shear. Chris is expected
to intensify into a hurricane later Tuesday morning. Chris is expected to remain well offshore of the United States and is projected to move off to the northeast and farther away from the U.S. coast Wednesday and Thursday.
By Thursday and Friday, Chris will bring heavy rain and strong gusty winds to eastern coastal sections of Nova Scotia and eastern Newfoundland on Thursday into Thursday night.
While Chris is not expected to directly impact the U.S. over the next few days, rough surf and dangerous rip currents will continue to impact coastal areas of the Carolinas during the next couple of days, then this higher surf and rip currents will impact the mid-Atlantic and the Northeast from Wednesday through Friday.
