Tropical Storm Dexter forms off North Carolina coast

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — The fourth named storm of the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season has formed off the the coast of North Carolina, but that’s were it will stay.

Late Sunday night, the National Hurricane Center upgraded the tropical disturbance that formed along a cold front to Tropical Storm Dexter centered nearly 400 miles east of the North Carolina coast.

Dexter will continue to move away from the East Coast and have no impact on North Carolina.

Earlier in the day Sunday, just off the North Carolina coast, the area of showers and storms was being tracked for potential development.

The non-tropical area of low pressure was located along a frontal boundary. That was the same cold front that moved through late last week and dropped temperatures in the Carolinas.

On Sunday morning, it had a 40 percent chance of developing into a tropical system by Monday — and on Sunday night, that jumped to 80 percent.

By the time Tropical Storm Dexter formed on Sunday night, it was already more than 300 miles from the North Carolina coast. Dexter has top sustained winds of 45 mph with higher gusts.

The National Hurricane Center is tracking the storm moving east-northeast at 12 mph.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 140 miles from the center.

“A faster east-northeastward or northeastward motion is expected through early Tuesday, followed by a slower motion Tuesday and Wednesday,” the National Hurricane Center said about Dexter.

There have been dangerous rip currents and high seas along the North Carolina Outer Banks all weekend.

Meanwhile, a tropical wave is forecast to move off the west coast of Africa in the next few days.

Tropical development will be possible mid-to-late in the week as it moves west-northwest across the Atlantic. The chance of development is low at 40% over the next 7 days.

While it doesn’t pose a direct threat to North Carolina at this time, it’s worth watching.