Season's First Tropical Storm May Dampen Holiday Plans

The Fourth of July holiday may get off to a soggy start in the Piedmont.

Forecasters are currently looking at a low-pressure area off the coast of Florida. There's a good chance it could be the beginnings of the summer's first tropical storm. It would be called Tropical Storm Arthur.

Forecast models predict that if the storm does form, it will likely move up the east coast and reach North Carolina sometime late Thursday or early Friday. Darin Figursky is a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Raleigh. He says Arthur could bring heavy rains and scattered thunderstorms from the coast to the Triad.

According to Figursky, the wet weather will likely clear out before the start of evening fireworks displays, setting the stage for clear skies in the Triad over the weekend.

As for the rest of this week's forecast, Figurski says be a little bit warmer than usual for the first week of July, with temperatures reaching into the low 90s.