Tropical Storm Chantal formed this morning to the east of Georgia and is expected to slowly drift northward towards the South Carolina coast tonight.  Chantal will be the first tropical low-pressure system to make landfall on the United States.  Chantal currently has the bulk of the convection on the eastern side of the circulation, with the center exposed on the western side of the circulation.  Improved organization will be possible before landfall, but no significant intensification is expected at this time.  Chantal is expected to move into the South Carolina coast by early tomorrow morning and then lift into central North Carolina by Monday morning.  Once the storm makes landfall, the circulation will rapidly shift to post-tropical and develop more cold-core characteristics.  This storm is expected to produce 2″ to 6″ of rain along the northeastern coast of South Carolina and along the coast of North Carolina and 1″ to 2″ further inland in northeastern South Carolina and east-central North Carolina.

The remnant moisture from Chantal has the potential to produce heavy rainfall in the northern Mid-Atlantic on Monday, predominantly south and southeast of the I-95 corridor.