The Latest: Tropical Storm Chris could become hurricane

MIAMI — The Latest on tropical storms in the Atlantic (all times local):

___

11 a.m.

Weather forecasters say Tropical Storm Chris is likely to strengthen to a hurricane by Monday but will remain well away from the U.S. coast for the next two or three days.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday that the storm has barely moved since Saturday. At 11 a.m. EDT, the storm's center was located about 160 miles (260 kilometers) south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Maximum sustained winds have reached 45 mph (75 kph).

No coastal watches or warnings are in effect, but forecasters say swells along the coasts of North Carolina and the mid-Atlantic states could produce dangerous surf and rip current conditions.

___

8 a.m.

Tropical Storm Chris has formed in the Atlantic, the third named storm of the 2018 hurricane season.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday that the storm was likely to strengthen. As of 5 a.m. EDT, its maximum sustained winds were clocked at 40 mph (65 kph).

The storm was centered about 150 miles (245 kilometers) south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The hurricane center said the storm was expected to generate swells that would increase in intensity along the North Carolina and mid-Atlantic coasts.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Beryl - the second named storm of this season - is expected to dump heavy rain over the Lesser Antilles at the end of the weekend.

___

Tropical Storm Beryl is moving rapidly westward toward the Lesser Antilles at the eastern entrance of the Caribbean Sea.

The storm that had been the Atlantic season's first hurricane has been losing power, but residents on islands hit hard by storms last year stocked up on food and water Saturday and prepared for possible damaging winds, rains and waves.

A tropical storm warning is up on Guadeloupe and Dominica, while a tropical storm watch has been issued for the French Caribbean territories of Martinique, St. Martin and St. Barts as well as St. Maarten, Barbados, St. Lucia, Saba and St. Eustatius. Puerto Rico, which was devastated by Hurricane Maria in September, remains under a state of emergency.

Associated Press