Hurricane Arthur Could Develop Off Florida Coast

A tropical depression off the coast of Florida is forecast to grow into Hurricane Arthur and strike North Carolina’s Outer Banks during the Fourth of July holiday.

The storm was stationary 95 miles (153 kilometers) southeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida, with maximum winds of 35 miles per hour as of 8 a.m. local time, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory. Tropical storm watches were posted for Florida’s eastern coast from Fort Pierce to Flagler Beach because the system is expected to reach that level later today.

“For vacationers going out there to the Outer Banks, they will have some concerns and will have to watch this,” said Paul Walker, a meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pennsylvania.

When the depression’s winds reach 39 mph it will become Tropical Storm Arthur, the first named system of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30. Arthur’s winds are expected to peak at 75 mph, just over the threshold of hurricane strength, in the next three days.

One to 3 inches (2.5 to 8 centimeters) of rain are expected to fall across central Florida, while parts of the Bahamas may get as much as 6 inches before the system tracks north, the hurricane center said.

Category 1

After the storm passes the Outer Banks, possibly as a weak Category 1 hurricane with winds of about 75 mph, it will move northeast during the day on July 4, blocking a cold front coming across the U.S. That means Boston should receive some heavy rain, said Rob Carolan, owner of Hometown Forecast Services Inc. in Nashua, New Hampshire.

Carolan said most of the rain from the front will probably miss New York City, where the Fourth of July may start cloudy and then clear by nightfall. Any areas behind the frontal boundary, such as the vacation spots of northern New England, should also be clear.

“Anyone back behind the front will have a glorious weekend,” Carolan said.