Forecasters said a tropical depression off the Southeast coast is expected to strengthen and could become a tropical storm, AP reported. The National Hurricane Center says at 11 a.m. Saturday that a tropical storm warning is in effect from the northern South Carolina coast to the North Carolina-Virginia border. The warning means tropical storm conditions are expected in the next 24 hours. The center of the tropical depression is about 90 miles (145 kilometers) east of Charleston and about 250 miles (402 kilometers) southwest of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The depression is moving toward the northeast at about 7 mph (11 kph) and is expected to hug the Carolinas' coast during the next two days. Maximum sustained winds are near 35 mph (56 kph) with higher gusts. The system would become a named tropical storm if sustained winds reach 39 mph (63 kph).
