NYC 'Closely Monitoring' Tropical Storm Claudette, Mayor Says

NEW YORK CITY — Drenching rains and strong winds from Tropical Storm Claudette likely will bypass New York City, but city officials are still keeping a watchful eye on the storm.

The city will be "closely monitoring" the storm as it barrels past the East Coast on Tuesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said

"At this moment we don’t expect a major impact in terms of wind or rain, but we are concerned about rip currents,” he said Monday.

The storm unleashed torrents of rain, flash floods and tornados across the Southeast over the weekend.

But Claudette has since moved back into the Atlantic Ocean, where the National Hurricane Center listed it as "moving away from the United States," as of Monday.

The city's forecast calls for a chance of showers and thunderstorms Monday afternoon and into Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.

"A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 2pm and 5pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5pm," Tuesday's forecast states.

Here's the National Weather Service forecast:

Monday Afternoon
A chance of thunderstorms after 5pm. Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. South wind 8 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Monday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2am, then a slight chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. South wind 7 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Tuesday
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 2pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 2pm and 5pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 5pm. Mostly cloudy, with a temperature rising to near 74 by 8am, then falling to around 65 during the remainder of the day. Northwest wind 10 to 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Tuesday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers, mainly before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. Northwest wind around 10 mph.

Wednesday
Sunny, with a high near 75. North wind 7 to 11 mph.

Wednesday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 62.