The first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is drifting toward the U.S. southeastern coast Friday after forming a few weeks before the season officially begins.

According to Bay News 9 meteorologist Brian McClure, Subtropical Storm Ana's maximum sustained winds are near 60 mph with slight strengthening possible during the next day or so.

The storm is centered about 140 miles southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and is nearly stationary due to a blocking ridge of high pressure to her north and east.  Once this begins to break down, later into the weekend, Ana will start to move more north then northeast away from the U.S. 

Ana will remain weak and just wobble around off the coast of the Carolinas. By Sunday it will finally drift inland near Wilmington, North Carolina. During the next two days they will have rainy weather with breezy conditions and some rough surf, but this isn’t going to be a big storm. The water temperatures are not warm enough to support a large tropical storm.

For the Bay area, Ana will have little direct effect.

We are benefiting from dry air wrapping our way into the storm. This will keep dew points around 60 or below, making it more comfortable this weekend. However, since we are late into Spring, our temps will still climb to near 90, if not above.

BN9 Weather Resources

A tropical storm watch is in effect for Edisto Beach, South Carolina, to Cape Lookout, North Carolina. The system is expected to deliver 2 to 4 inches of rain over eastern areas of both Carolinas over the weekend, and is already creating heavy surf and swells.

Ana is currently a subtropical system, meaning it has characteristics of both a tropical storm, which gets its energy from warm ocean waters, and a traditional storm system driven by temperature changes. Ana may become tropical within the next 12 to 18 hours.

The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins June 1 and ends Nov. 30.

High temperatures will be in the mid to upper 80s Friday.

High temperatures will approach 90 degrees inland Saturday and Sunday afternoon. The beaches will be cooler with a sea breeze each day.

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