High winds and rain are expected in Suffolk most of Tuesday as a storm makes its way up the East Coast.

The potential tropical storm was moving quickly up the coast over the weekend and was expected to brush Hampton Roads.

“Whether or not it becomes a tropical storm or it remains more like a nor’easter really doesn’t make a different for us here,” National Weather Service meteorologist Mike Dutter said Monday afternoon. “Fortunately, it’s a quick hitter, so it will be here and gone pretty much by tomorrow evening.”

The area could see two to four inches of rain, Dutter said.

“It’s going to be heavy at times,” he said.

The National Weather Service issued a flash flood watch for Suffolk as well as most of South Hampton Roads and northeastern North Carolina. Periods of moderate to heavy rainfall are expected from 2 a.m. Tuesday through Tuesday evening.

The runoff may result in rapid rises in streams and creeks as well as ponding of water on roadways, especially in low-lying and poor drainage areas, the National Weather Service stated.

There will be some coastal flooding, which may affect the Nansemond River, Dutter said. He estimated flooding would be about two and a half feet above the normal high tide.

“Nothing that’s terribly serious,” he said. “Nothing like what happened with Matthew last year.”

Suffolk could see winds up to 40 or 50 miles per hour but more likely on the low end, Dutter added.

“Suffolk is going to see some gusty winds,” he said. “It won’t be nearly as bad there as it will be closer to the coast.”

Dominion Energy was monitoring the forecast and preparing for possible outages.

“We are staffing up and ensuring our trucks are stocked with supplies — replacement poles, transformers and fuses,” Dominion spokeswoman Bonita Billingsley Harris stated in an email. “They’ll be ready to drive, walk and climb trees anywhere they need to.”