Tropical storm could form this week off Southeast coast

A tropical weather system may be brewing in the Atlantic Ocean just in time to put a damper on Memorial Day weekend celebrations along the Southeastern coast.

There's a 30% chance an area of stormy weather moving toward the region could develop into a tropical or subtropical storm by Friday, the National Hurricane Center said. If that happens, the storm will be named Bonnie.

While it's unlikely an intense tropical storm or full-on hurricane would develop, the system is still expected to bring downpours and thunderstorms over the southern Atlantic coast into early next week, Accuweather reported. Rough surf conditions could develop from the eastern Florida coast to North Carolina.

The storm would technically be the second of the season, which officially gets underway June 1, after Hurricane Alex formed far out in the Atlantic in January.

Tropical storms occasionally form in May. One formed last year, and two swirled in 2012, weather.com reported. Since records began in 1851, 21 tropical storms have formed in the month, and four became hurricanes, according to the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory.

Federal meteorologists will announce their forecast for the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season Friday.