Odds are growing that a tropical or subtropical cyclone will form along the East Coast in the coming days, perhaps bringing wind-lashed heavy rains to portions of the Mid Atlantic. According to the latest Tropical Outlook from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), the odds of some kind of cyclone formation has increased to 30% over the next 48 hours and 50% over the next 7 days, an increase from yesterday’s outlook.

According to that Tropical Outlook, a non-tropical area of low pressure is expected to form this weekend along a frontal boundary a few hundred miles off the southeastern U.S. coastline. The NHC says that this system could gradually acquire subtropical or tropical characteristics thereafter over the warm waters of the Gulf Stream which runs up/down the U.S. east coast off-shore. With development possible, the NHC says that a subtropical or tropical depression or storm could form early next week while the system moves generally northwestward toward the coast.

Even if a subtropical or tropical cyclone doesn’t develop, portions of the Mid Atlantic, especially North Carolina and Virginia, could see soaking rains from it in the coming days.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Gordon continues to spin about over the open waters of the Atlantic and is not a concern to any land mass.  According to the NHC, the weak tropical storm is expected to weaken into a tropical depression in the coming days but is expected to re-intensify back into a tropical storm just a few days later. Even so, it will still be of no threat to land for at least the next 7 days.