Hurricane Sam

Scientists dispatched a specially designed surface drone into the middle of a Category 4 hurricane to gather data and give scientists a better understanding of such storms.

They will produced a heightened rip current risk from Florida to the Carolinas through the weekend.

Swells from Hurricane Sam will gradually reach the Atlantic coastline from the Carolinas to Florida on Thursday and Friday, then peak on Saturday.

Hurricane Sam matched Hurricane Ida as the season's strongest hurricane late Sunday, but is forecast to stay at sea.

Sam quickly strengthened could become a Category 3 storm by Saturday afternoon.

Forecasters say Tropical Storm Sam will intensify steadily in the coming days, and is projected to become a major-category hurricane by Monday.

While a large number of forecast models say Invest 98L will strengthen, it's hard to say where it's headed at this point.

Rain on Monday will be mainly across the northeast and central parts of the state, but sinking as far south as the I-4 corridor.