First hurricane of the season expected to form today; 2 other systems under observation

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — A weather system tracking toward the North Carolina coast has a 70 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression in the next five days.

It is one of three areas the National Hurricane Center is monitoring as we enter the Labor Day weekend.

According to ABC11 Meteorologist Kweilyn Murphy, long-range forecasts show this system turning away from the coast and staying out to sea. If that changes at all, the First Alert Weather Team will let you know.

Tropical Storm Danielle is strengthening while it spins out in the Atlantic Ocean. The system is expected to become the first hurricane of the season sometime Friday and possibly strengthen to category 2 level.

The good news about Danielle is that it will remain out to sea and does not pose any real threat to major population centers.

The storm is centered about 890 miles (1,435 kilometers) west of the Azores and is moving east near 3 mph (6 kph). The hurricane center said the storm is expected to meander in the Atlantic over the next few days.

The third weather system under observation in the Atlantic is just off the African coast. It only has a 10 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression over the next five days.

All of this comes amid what had been a calm hurricane season. It is the first time since 1941 that the Atlantic has gone from July 3 to the end of August with no named storm, Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach told The Associated Press.

WATCH | ABC11 Hurricane Season Special

The Associated Press contributed to this report.