Tropical depression likely to form off North Carolina coast later this week

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- An area of low pressure located a few hundred miles north of the Bahamas could bring rain and strong rip currents to the North Carolina coast toward the end of the week.

According to the National Weather Service, the system has around a 70 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression.

The system is forecast to track north along the US East Coast, staying just off shore of North Carolina.

Since it should remain off the coast, North Carolina will miss the strongest effects of the storm. However, rain from the storm could still push ashore on Friday. The farther east you are, the higher chance you'll have to see some rain.

The heaviest wind and rain from this system will remain far off the coast, but it could create dangerous rip currents for anyone at the beach this weekend.

Another tropical wave is developing off the African coast. It has a 90 percent chance to become at least a tropical depression in the next five days.

It's way too early to really predict where that system will end up, but it is an early concern that the First Alert Weather Team will continue to monitor in the coming days.

The next name on the list of storms this year is Odette.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Nicholas made landfall in Texas early Tuesday morning.

Slow-moving Nicholas weakened to a tropical depression but it is still dumping a lot of rain on Texas, Louisiana and Alabama. The system is crawling at just 3 mph, which means rain accumulation will continue for quite a while longer.