CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) – Tropical Storm Cristobal churned off the Southeast seaboard after it formed Saturday, the first storm to threaten the U.S. this hurricane season, forecasters said.

The storm strengthened from a tropical depression, generating maximum sustained winds of about 45 mph as it promised to bring much-needed rains to the parched eastern Carolinas.

At 5 p.m. EDT, the center of the storm was about 125 miles east of Charleston and about 205 miles southwest of Cape Hatteras, N.C. The National Hurricane Center said Cristobal was moving northeast at about 7 mph.

Although the center of the storm was forecast to remain off the coast through the weekend, tropical storm warnings were in effect from the South Santee River in South Carolina to the North Carolina-Virginia state line, including Pamlico Sound.

Flood advisories were posted for coastal counties and Wilmington, N.C., received 21/2 inches of rain Saturday, said Stephen Keebler, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service there. Cristobal’s winds were not expected to be a problem, Keebler said.

“It’s some rain and a little bit of relief for the coastal areas and a lot of excitement, but that’s about it,” he said.

The rain bands were weakening as they spun farther inland, providing little relief for parched areas near Interstate 95 in North Carolina, he said.

Forecasters predicted up to 5 inches of rain along the North Carolina coast, with heavier amounts in some areas.

Eastern North Carolina is under a moderate drought while areas along South Carolina’s northern coast are considered abnormally dry, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Officials have blamed the persistent drought for a massive wildfire that has burned more than 40,000 acres in eastern North Carolina since it began June 1 with a lightning strike.