A tropical storm ... and heavy rain for the Carolinas

We didn't have to wait long for the first named storm of the tropical season.

Tropical Storm Andrea formed Wednesday afternoon in the Gulf of Mexico, with the center of the storm about 300 miles west of Tampa.

Before all is said and done, Andrea likely will have an impact -- though probably indirect -- on the Charlotte region.  The storm's effects on our area is expected to be in the form of drenching thunderstorms, possibly enough to cause flash flooding.

The National Hurricane Center's likely track for Andrea carries the center of the storm northward along the coastal plain of the Carolinas, about 50 miles inland.  That path is close enough to bring heavy rain to the eastern edge of the Charlotte region -- say, Richmond and Anson counties in North Carolina, and Chesterfield County in South Carolina.

But don't be fooled. As the system races northward Thursday and Friday and changes from tropical to extratropical, its rain shield will expand.  Showers and thunderstorms likely will surge northward (as they're doing tonight) across the Carolinas Piedmont.

In short, look for a very wet period from Thursday through Friday afternoon or evening, until Andrea pushes northeast of the region.

We'll likely see some flash flood warnings issued on a local basis.

As of now, the National Weather Service office locally doesn't expect to issue any widespread flood watches, but if Andrea should track a bit farther inland, all that could change.

In short, the next 24 to 48 hours will bear watching.  Andrea won't be a big wind-producer, but it's likely to cause some flooding problems.

Samaras tribute:  I understand that the Discovery Channel will air a tribute tonight to veteran scientist and tornado chaser Tim Samaras, who was killed -- along with son Paul and another veteran scientist, Carl Young -- by a huge Oklahoma tornado last week.

I've seen comments from people who thought Samaras was a glory-seeking tornado-chaser.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  He was a true scientist who had produced some valuable studies on severe weather.  His death is a huge loss to the world of meteorology and science, in general.

Tonight's tribute is at 9 p.m., from what I understand.