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HUGULEY — Nicholas came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane on Tuesday and weakened to a tropical depression by nightfall. It has dumped lots of rain along the gulf coast region. Rain will likely continue through the weekend with some areas getting as much as six inches of rainfall. According to Chambers County EMA Deputy Director Kathy Hornsby, the local area could get a little more than one inch of rain by 8 p.m. Saturday. For the central Alabama region, there will be no threats of high wind, tornadoes or widespread flooding. Hornsby said that weather forecasters are looking at two potential trouble spots in the coming days.

“An area of low pressure is forecast to form north of the Bahamas by mid-week with a 60 percent chance of tropical formation in three to five days,” she said.

At this time, long-range models do not bring the center of circulation onto the U.S. east coast. A tropical wave off the coast of Africa has an 80 percent chance of tropical formation. Long-range models have this system approaching the Leeward Islands around the September 22-23 time frame.”

The Leeward Islands are situated where the northeastern Caribbean Sea meets the Atlantic Ocean. Any hurricane that makes it across the Atlantic to the vicinity of the Leewards has a chance to make landfall on any of the major Caribbean islands and the U.S. coast.