The third tropical depression of the season formed Friday afternoon off the South Carolina coast and was forecast to strengthen into Tropical Storm Chantal.
The storm, located 1650 miles south-southeast of Charleston, S.C., has top winds of 35 mph, according to the 5 a.m. Saturday advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
A tropical depression is the weakest form of tropical cyclone, a circulating weather system which in the case of a depression has winds of 38 mph or less.
The depression is forecast to barely reach tropical storm strength, with top winds of 40 mph, by the time it hits the South Carolina coast on Saturday. If it becomes a tropical storm, it would be named Chantal.
The storm, currently stationary, is forecast to drift northwestward and then move inland over the southeastern United States by Sunday.
Rain and thunderstorms are likely in South Florida through this week and into next week, according to the National Weather Service forecast. Heavy rain is expected particularly for the west-central and southwestern Florida coast through early Saturday, the NHC said.
On Friday, South Florida experienced scattered thunderstorms in the morning that became more widespread in the afternoon. As the evening progresses, rain chances will decrease.
Don’t expect better outdoor weather on Saturday. The chance of rain increases to 90% with thunderstorms likely.
Colorado State University’s hurricane forecast for 2025 estimates 17 named storms, with nine of them becoming hurricanes.
Hurricane season runs through Nov. 30.