Two tropical disturbances, one near North Carolina, being monitored

Two areas of low pressure, one off the mid-Atlantic United States coastline and another set to emerge off of western Africa, were being monitored on Sunday night, forecasters said.

The disturbance currently over water has formed a frontal boundary about 150 miles off the coast of North Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center. It was moving at 10 mph at a east-northeasterly direction away from land as of 8 p.m. Sunday and has been given a 30% chance of developing over the next 48 hours.

The other area being monitored, according to the NHC, is expected to emerge into the far eastern Atlantic Ocean off Africa in a day or two and move on a west-northwesterly track toward the central Atlantic with a 20% chance of development over the next seven days.

The next named storm to form would be Tropical Storm Dexter.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had initially forecast an expected 13 to 19 named storms for the year, of which six to 10 would grow into hurricanes. Three to five of those would develop into major hurricanes of Category 3 strength or higher.

Colorado State University researchers recently updated their forecast saying they expect the season to be slightly less active than what they had predicted earlier this year.