An area of heavy rain and thunderstorms off the North Carolina and South Carolina coastlines Monday morning, designated Potential Tropical Cyclone 8 (or PTC 8 for short), is the next potential Atlantic system that may affect the continental United States.

Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight is bringing strong winds and heavy rains to parts of North Carolina, according to the National Hurricane Center. These tropical storm conditions with heavy wind and rain will likely produce a continuation of tropical storm warnings for this region through Monday.

You often hear terms like tropical depression, tropical storm, and hurricane during hurricane season, but “potential tropical cyclone” is a newer term you might not know.