Hurricane Chris was a moderately strong tropical cyclone that affected the East Coast of the United States and Atlantic Canada in July 2018.

[1] The National Hurricane Center (NHC) first mentioned the possibility of tropical cyclogenesis, expecting an area of low pressure to form midway between Bermuda and the Southeastern United States.

[3] After deep convection developed over the center, a tropical depression formed around 12:00 UTC on July 6 about 300 mi (485 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

[4][5] An Air Force Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance aircraft found that the strongest winds remained displaced to a rainband south of the center.

[6] At 06:00 UTC on July 8, the depression strengthened into Tropical Storm Chris, though the low-level circulation center remained exposed north of the convection.

[1][7] Pulled slowly southeastward by a passing cold front,[1] Chris intensified steadily throughout the rest of the day, as it was located in an area of warm sea surface temperatures and low wind shear.

A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Hurricane Hunter plane found that the wind field was becoming more symmetric and the pressure was dropping.

[8] Both banding and central convection increased,[9] though a dry air intrusion put a halt to the strengthening trend early on July 9.

[10] Weak steering currents led Chris to stall a few hundred miles offshore Morehead City, as the cyclone was trapped in a large break in the subtropical ridge.

[12][13] However, significant upwelling prevented quick intensification initially, and Chris remained at tropical storm strength up to midday on July 10.

[14] By late on July 10, a weakening mid-level ridge over the central Atlantic and a new trough over the northeastern United States began to accelerate the cyclone eastward.

[15][16] Chris peaked as a Category 2 hurricane with winds of 105 mph (165 km/h) and a pressure of 969 mbar (28.61 inHg) at 00:00 UTC on July 11,[1] with the convective ring in its core transforming into a full eyewall.

[19] At 12:00 UTC on July 12, Chris weakened to a tropical storm, and six hours later, it transitioned to an extratropical cyclone a few hundred miles southeast of Newfoundland.

[27] Before Chris hit Newfoundland and Labrador, ExxonMobil moved many non-essential employees working on offshore oil platforms out of the path of the storm.

[31] As an extratropical cyclone, the system brought high swells, locally heavy rain and gusty winds to Newfoundland and Labrador.