Hurricane Center eyeing disturbed weather near Bahamas

The National Hurricane Center is keeping an eye on an area of disturbed weather northeast of the Bahamas, but so far local forecasters in the National Weather Service office in Newport/Morehead City are predicting only a chance of showers or thunderstorms later in the holiday weekend for the Outer Banks.

In a statement this morning, the Hurricane Center said an area of showers and thunderstorms in the western Atlantic is associated with the interaction of an upper-level trough and a weakening front.

“While development is not anticipated for the next couple of days,” the Hurricane Center said, “environmental conditions are expected to become more conducive for tropical or subtropical development on Friday.”

The area of disturbed weather is forecast to move gradually west-northwest or northwest toward the southeast United States coast over the weekend, and the Hurricane Center is giving it a 50 percent chance of developing into a tropical or subtropical system over the next five days.

However, meteorologists at the local National Weather Service office are forecasting that the weak surface low will remain south of eastern North Carolina through the weekend.

“The main result for area will be increasing subtropical moisture with deepening southeast-south flow with threat of at least scattered coverage of showers/thunderstorms through period,” according to the forecasters.

Right now, they are putting the chance for scattered showers at a 40 percent chance Saturday and Sunday and a 50 percent chance on Memorial Day. Temperatures each day will be around 80.

The marine forecast for later in the weekend is calling for a persistent south-southeast wind at about 10 knots and seas building to 4 to 5 feet.

For more information on local forecasts and boating conditions, got to the National Weather Service at Newport/Morehead City website at http://www.weather.gov/mhx/.