Heavy Rain This Weekend In VA; Storms Threaten Mid-Atlantic: NWS

VIRGINIA — In what is turning out to be a busy hurricane season, weather officials on Tuesday were watching multiple storm systems that threatened the East Coast, including a tropical storm brewing in the Atlantic that's expected to target a stretch from northeastern Florida to North Carolina this week.

Bernie Rayno, AccuWeather's chief on-air meteorologist, labeled one unnamed storm churning in the ocean "homebrew," saying stalled fronts could be a factor in creating homebrew-type tropical storms.

AccuWeather said the low-pressure system could hit portions of the East Coast by the end of the week due to atmospheric energy and a stalled front.

"The Gulf Stream, which is a current that originates from the Caribbean, transports warm water along much of the East Coast. Water temperatures in this zone are currently well into the 80s and well above the minimum threshold needed for tropical development to take place," AccuWeather said.

Meanwhile, the Weather Channel on Tuesday said the storm could become subtropical. Whether the story becomes subtropical or not, the Southeast Coast and the mid-Atlantic will see rain throughout the weekend.

According to AccuWeather, heavy rainfall and thunderstorms could affect the Carolinas and mid-Atlantic coast Friday and Saturday.

"The rain may continue to advance into upstate New York and part of New England from Saturday night to Sunday," AccuWeather reported.

The National Weather Service office for the Baltimore-DC region said clouds move in Friday, and rain chances stay in the forecast through Monday.

Friday: Partly sunny, with a high near 75.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 59.

Saturday: A chance of rain after 9am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 70. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Saturday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

Sunday: A chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 74. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Sunday Night: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 61. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Monday: A chance of rain. Partly sunny, with a high near 78. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Hurricane Nigel Churns In Atlantic

Also on the radar of weather forecasters is Hurricane Nigel, located in the central Atlantic. The hurricane should not threaten land and should move away from Bermuda this week, the Weather Channel said.

Nigel was spinning at about 80 mph Monday in the Atlantic and heading northwest at about 12 mph. While it's still early to say where Nigel would end up, the latest forecast model had the storm making a northeastern turn, avoiding landfall on the East Coast and heading toward northern Europe by Saturday morning.

Tropical Wave Forms Near Africa

A third storm, a tropical wave near the African coast, should leave the area by Wednesday, the National Weather Service said.

"Environmental conditions are forecast to be conducive for gradual development of the wave thereafter, and a tropical depression is likely to form late this week or this weekend while the system moves westward across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic," the agency said.

By the end of the week or over the weekend, the tropical wave is expected to form into a tropical depression. Over the next seven days, it has a 70 percent chance of tropical formation, the weather service said.

With an ongoing hurricane season, the Weather Channel said the next 10 weeks should bring additional tropical storm systems.