Tropical Storm Andrea to Drench Monmouth on Friday

The first week of the official hurricane season produced the first named storm of the year, Tropical Storm Andrea, but Monmouth County is not expected to see strong winds from the system — only heavy rain likely to start in the wee hours of Friday morning.

Andrea was named by the National Hurricane Center on Wednesday when its average wind speeds surpassed 39 mph.

As of noon on Thursday, Andrea's maximum sustained winds were 60 mph (with stronger gusts) as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico. The storm is expected to reach the Gulf Coast of Florida on Thursday afternoon, then move over southeastern Georgia and coastal South Carolina on Thursday night and Friday.

The predicted track of the storm heads out to sea as it passes the area's latitude Friday night into Saturday.

Andrea is not expected to strengthen, and the area has little chance of seeing tropical-force winds. The storm is likely to weaken and lose its tropical designation as it moves north over colder water.

But the storm is expected to dump as much as 8 inches of rain on parts of Florida and Georgia.

Showers are likely to start after 2 a.m. Friday, according to the National Weather Service forecast. The heaviest rain is expected to fall on Friday afternoon into Friday night.

"Despite the fact that South Jersey is within the forecast track, the ONLY impact I'm expecting here is heavy rain," NBC40 meteorologist Dan Skeldon wrote in a Wednesday update. " '1 to 2' (inches) likely for lots of South Jersey on Friday ... localized higher amounts possible. So the remnants of Andrea will be a rainmaker as it comes up the coast, and nothing else. Tidal flooding or tropical storm force winds ARE NOT expected here in South Jersey."

A 50 percent chance of rain continues into Saturday, but the weather begins to clear from there.