NORTH AMERICA - Two tropical storms are predicted to bring heavy rainfall to North America this week—Tropical Storm Joaquin on the East coast and Tropical Storm Monty off the coast of Southern Mexico.

The newly formed Tropical Storm Joaquin, the 10th named storm of the season, is currently about 385 miles northeast of the central Bahamas, The National Hurricane Center in Miami reports, but forecast models are showing the system will strengthen slowly as it parallels the East Coast over the course of the next few days. 

“There is some consensus among several models that this low will impact the DC Area this weekend, while others take the system northward into Long Island and Connecticut instead,” reports Roland Clark of the Weather Advisory Service. “There is also the possibility that the low will get entrained into an approaching frontal boundary and become swept out to sea.”

In the eastern Pacific, Hurricane Marty, now downgraded to Tropical Storm Monty, has been moving slowly toward the south-central coast of Mexico bringing heavy rains from Zihuatanejo to Acapulco.

Hurricane watches were put in effect for the areas between Tecpan de Galeana and Lazaro Cardenas, while a tropical storm warning was put in effect from Acapulco to east of Tecpan de Galeana and from west of Lazaro Cardenas to Punta San Telmo.

The Hurricane Center said Marty was expected to be just offshore of the southwestern coast of Mexico on Tuesday and Wednesday, while "only a small deviation" would bring the center onto shore. Forecasters from the center also warned of significant coastal flooding.

AndNowUKnow will continue to update as both of these storms continue to develop, so stay tuned.