CHARLESTON , South Carolina -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Tropical storm Cristobal was forecast to move `` parallel and very close '' to the North Carolina coast Sunday morning , but the storm is not expected to make landfall along the eastern U.S. shores . Satellite image taken at 1:15 p.m. Saturday shows Tropical Storm Cristobal off the coast of the Carolinas . At 11 p.m. ET Saturday , the center of the storm was about 45 miles southeast of Cape Fear , North Carolina , and about 170 miles southwest of Cape Hatteras , North Carolina . The National Hurricane Center said Cristobal was moving northeast at about 6 mph , with maximum sustained winds of about 45 mph and some higher gusts . `` The center of the tropical storm is expected to move parallel and very close to the coast of North Carolina for the next day or so , '' the NHC said . It is expected to dump between three and five inches of rain along the Carolina coast this weekend , it said . The storm had not strengthened beyond the 45 mph top winds measured earlier on Saturday , according to the NHC . A discussion posted online by NHC forecasters called Cristobal `` convectively challenged '' and predicted the storm would `` become absorbed ahead of an approaching cold front '' by late Monday . 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 , North Carolina , received 2 1/2 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 , and 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 . As Cristobal lurked offshore , the storm was keeping many boaters off the waters -- and surfers in the waves . On North Carolina 's Outer Banks , surfers reveled in the waves as the storm churned offshore well to the south . Bradley Rose , a surf instructor at SandBarz in Carolina Beach , North Carolina , said the waves were a bit choppy . `` It looks pretty fun out there , '' Rose said . At the By the Sea Motel in North Myrtle Beach , South Carolina , out-of-state vacationers took to the beach , trying to photograph the outer rain bands of Cristobal , hotel manager Charlie Peterson said . Intermittent rain showers during the afternoon were not enough to chase them away , and there were even brief moments of sunshine . `` They 've got their cameras set , and they think there is going to be lightning over the water and all , '' he said . `` They have never seen this . '' Elsewhere Saturday , Hurricane Fausto strengthened far off Mexico 's Pacific coast , while Hurricane Bertha , located east of Cape Race , Newfoundland , was downgraded to tropical storm status . Neither of those storms currently threatens land . Bertha had blustered across Bermuda this week , knocking out electricity to thousands there .