Atlantic storm could bring early start to hurricane season

MIAMI (Reuters) - A swirling mass of thunderstorms off the South Carolina coast has a 50-percent chance of developing into a tropical depression or a tropical storm and could bring an early start to the Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters said on Saturday.

The weather disturbance was in the Atlantic Ocean about 120 miles southeast of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

"Showers and thunderstorms have increased near the circulation center. Additional development of this system is possible and it could become a tropical depression or tropical storm as it moves slowly southward or westward over the next day or so," they said.