East Coasters , if intense rains and strong winds ruin your Fourth of July holiday , you will have Arthur to blame . That 's the name of the first named storm of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season . Arthur is now churning off the coast of eastern Florida . As of 8 p.m. Tuesday , the center of Tropical Storm Arthur was stalled about 90 miles east-southeast of Cape Canaveral , Florida , and 95 miles north-northwest of Freeport in the Bahamas . But Arthur is n't expected to remain stationary for long , with the National Hurricane Center predicting it will drift northwest before turning north on Wednesday . The system is expected to go east of northeast Florida sometime Wednesday , before moving north and possibly affecting the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Thursday night . By then , it may have changed to Hurricane Arthur , if it gets stronger , as forecasters expect . To reach that status , the storm must have sustained winds of at least 74 mph . Already on Tuesday , parts of eastern Florida , from Fort Pierce to Flagler Beach , were under a tropical storm watch given the possible combination of powerful winds and heavy rains . Grand Bahama Island saw sustained winds of 47 mph and a gust of 61 mph on Tuesday , according to the Miami-based hurricane center . Such winds may be the least of the worries for the Caribbean island chain , parts of which could end up drenched in 6 inches of rain through Wednesday . Arthur is expected to produce significant , but slightly less , rainfall in the United States . The hurricane center forecast calls for as much as 5 inches through Wednesday in Florida , with 1- to 3-inch totals more likely . Other parts of the East Coast also are expected to be affected as the storm churns north . CNN meteorologist Chad Myers said the fact that the Outer Banks , a string of barrier islands , is hard to get onto and off of may make the situation difficult for those who are planning to spend their July Fourth holiday there . The islands are low and rain could easily wash onto the roads , making them impassable even before the eye of the storm makes landfall , he said . All preparation for the storm should be done as soon as possible , he stressed . On Tuesday afternoon CNN affiliate WWAY in Wilmington , North Carolina , was asking its readers to take a survey measuring how concerned they are about Arthur . Will it make them `` batten down the hatches '' or be just `` another day at the beach , '' or does it matter , `` as long as it 's gone in time for fireworks '' ? There 's also an option for `` do n't know/do n't care . '' Lee Nettles , the executive director of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau , said his office has n't received any panicked or alarmed calls from anyone . `` You take every storm warning seriously , '' he said . `` But , for the most part , folks are n't overly concerned . '' After hitting the Carolinas , the system is likely to turn northeast , forecasters said . By then , it could drench cities like Washington , New York and Boston , But it 's unclear just how torrential the downpour might be or how it could affect Independence Day festivities , CNN 's Myers said . The good news is that none of the current National Weather Service forecasts for those three cities are predicting winds in excess of 10 mph through Thursday , at least . But there is a better than average chance that heavy rain could hit them all . Here 's a look at what you need to know about Independence Day .
Tropical Storm Arthur is stationary off Florida ; expected to head up the coast later . A tropical storm watch is in effect for parts of Florida 's eastern coast . Arthur is expected to strengthen into a hurricane . Comment: