A low-pressure system forming near the southern Atlantic Coast will drift northward and is expected to move inland on Saturday across eastern North Carolina.  The coastal storm has the potential to produce heavy rainfall, gusty winds, and pounding surf in the middle Atlantic States through the weekend.  Meanwhile, a complex and slow-moving weather system over the nation’s mid-section will maintain unsettled conditions.  Strong to locally severe thunderstorms could result in 5-day rainfall totals reaching 1 to 3 inches or more from the northern Plains into the Mississippi Valley. 

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