First Alert Forecast: front to bring higher rain chances and cooler days, tropics waking up

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - Good Thursday to you and thanks for checking into your First Alert Forecast! As we round up the week, there are a few things to keep in mind weather-wise. First, locally, a cold front will approach the Carolinas Friday and stall into the weekend. Odds for showers and storms Friday will be near 30% Friday then grow to near 50% over the weekend.

On the tropical weather front: Tropical Depression Chantal continues to exploit every bit of energy it can from the northernmost reaches of the Gulf Stream. Steering winds will speedily guide this weak North Atlantic system through open waters over the next three to five days. It may even perform a loop! ...but it remains a highly unlikely visitor to North America.

Closer to home: a cluster of Bahamian thunderstorms carries low to medium tropical storm development odds over the next five days as a front draws it northward. Since this front will also affect our local weekend forecast (the aforementioned an uptick in rain chances and slide in temperatures), we will monitor any tropical interplay very closely.

Catch all temperature and rain chance specifics in a seven-day forecast for Wilmington right here. And remember: you can always grab a ten-day location-specific forecast on free your WECT Weather App!

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