Tropical Storm Chris Could Become Hurricane

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MIAMI (CBSNewYork/AP) — 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 south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Maximum sustained winds have reached 45 mph.

CBS2's Vanessa Murdock said the storm if expected to stay off the coast for the entirety of its lifespan, but it is expected to strengthen as it moves in a northeasterly direction.

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.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Beryl is expected to dump heavy rain over the Lesser Antilles at the end of the weekend.

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.