MIDWAY, Fla. (WTXL) -- Tropical Storm Chris is slow to move in the western Atlantic waters, a couple hundred miles east of South Carolina, but warm water underneath the system has allowed gradual strengthening.
Chris has peak wind speeds near 70 mph, with some higher gusts. At last check late Monday afternoon, Chris was stationary, about 200 miles from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Chris's future strength is likely to be sustained for about another 24 to 36 hours as it meanders over the patch of warmer water temperatures caused by the Gulf Stream in the western Atlantic.
The intensification trend is not expected to continue once a trough nudges Chris to the northeast, over colder northern Atlantic waters. Upper-level winds will also create a less favorable environment for Chris' survival as it advances toward the Canadian Maritimes provinces later this week.
Side effects that will be experienced in southern Georgia and the Florida Big Bend will be a north wind pattern that forces drier air into the region and reducing the afternoon rain chances for the next few days.
