The Fourth of July will bring mostly sunny skies over the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina, but afternoon storm chances may rise for beachgoers in the Carolinas by Friday afternoon. The WXII 12 First Warning Weather team has been monitoring the Atlantic for tropical development from a broad area of disturbed weather that extends from Florida northward over the Gulf Stream.

The National Hurricane Center is tracking a “disturbance” that could intensify in the coming days. A tropical system and the heavy rains accompanying it could lead to flash flooding across Florida and other parts of the coastal Southeast this weekend.

TROPICAL UPDATE  Whether it develops or not, heavy rainfall is possible across portions of west-central and southwestern Florida.