Season's 1st tropical storm could spin up near Carolinas this week

The season's first tropical storm could spin up in the Atlantic just off the coast of the Carolinas later this week, the National Hurricane Center said Monday.

Even if it doesn't become a tropical storm, winds and seas are likely to kick up along part of the East Coast beginning by the middle of the week. AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said. This could lead to beach erosion and coastal flooding, especially in the Carolinas.

Before the storm forms, locally heavy rainfall is also possible in southern Florida and the Bahamas from Monday night through early Wednesday, the Weather Channel said. Rip currents are also a danger along the east coast of Florida, the National Weather Service warned.

If it develops, the system would become a "subtropical" or "hybrid" system, which has elements of both a regular storm and a tropical storm. The distinction between tropical and subtropical means little other than how meteorologists classify the storm.

If the storm gets a name, it would be Tropical Storm (or Subtropical Storm) Ana.

Typically, very few tropical storms or hurricanes form in May. From 1851 to 2014, there have only been 20 tropical storms and four hurricanes in May, according to Chris Landsea, the hurricane center's science and operations officer.

A hurricane has never hit the U.S. during May, though just three years ago, in May of 2012, Tropical Storm Beryl hit the East Coast with winds of 70 mph.

A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when its sustained winds reach 74 mph. The "official" start to the hurricane season is June 1.