First tropical storm of the season forms off SC

This NOAA satellite image taken Saturday, May 19, 2012, shows tropical storm Alberto 140 miles east of Charleston, S.C. Alberto is the first tropical storm of the season and formed Saturday off the coast of South Carolina with top winds of 45 mph. (AP Photo/Weather Underground)

Photo by Associated Press /Chattanooga Times Free Press.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The first tropical storm of the season formed Saturday off the coast of South Carolina with top winds of 45 mph, but it wasn’t threatening land.

Forecasters say tropical storm Alberto was centered about 140 miles east of Charleston, S.C., in the afternoon.

No coastal watches or warnings were in effect, but forecasters say they may issue one later. The Miami-based National Hurricane Center says there were no hazards affecting land so far, and the tropical-strength winds weren’t reaching shore. Some strengthening was possible.

It was moving about 3 mph to the southwest.

National Weather Service meteorologist Sandy LaCorte in Wilmington said the system will continue moving to the southwest before reversing course and heading northeast over the next several days. She said the center of the storm is not expected to get close to the Carolinas’ coast.

LaCorte said Alberto will produce increased waves at North and South Carolina beaches. There is a high risk of rip currents along North Carolina’s Outer Banks, and a moderate risk along the southeastern beaches and the entire South Carolina coast. Winds will gust to around 25 mph.

The weather service said there will be isolated and scattered rain showers along the coast of the Carolinas into early next week.

A forecast map by the hurricane center predicts that the storm will drift toward the open sea off the Midatlantic by midweek, but it’s difficult to accurately predict a storm’s path days in advance.

The official start to hurricane season is June 1, but tropical storms often occur before then.