HURRICANE SEASON 2008

Tropical Storm Kyle nears hurricane force off U.S.

Sept. 27, 208
MIAMI
(Reuters) -

Tropical Storm Kyle strengthened to near hurricane force over the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday as it swirled on a path toward landfall between Maine and Canada's maritime provinces, U.S. forecasters said.

Kyle, which formed on Thursday, had sustained winds near 70 mph as it swirled over the Atlantic and could become a minimal Category 1 hurricane on the five-step hurricane intensity scale any time on Saturday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

It said a hurricane watch was in effect for the coast of Maine, from Stonington to Eastport, meaning that residents should brace for hurricane conditions there.

At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), the 11th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season was located about 280 miles west of Bermuda and moving to the north-northwest at about 15 mph, the Miami-based hurricane center said.

On its current track, Kyle is expected to be centered near eastern New England or the Canadian maritime provinces by late on Sunday, the hurricane center said.

The storm is expected to make landfall anywhere from Maine to Nova Scotia early on Monday.

The disturbed weather system drenched Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Hispaniola earlier this week before moving north into the Atlantic. Authorities in Puerto Rico said at least four people were killed and scores of homes were flooded.

Kyle was the first tropical storm to form in the Atlantic-Caribbean region since Tropical Storm Josephine on September 2, a lengthy lull in what has been a busy and destructive hurricane season so far.

Forecasters have predicted the six-month season, which runs through November 30, could produce up to 18 cyclones and the warm sea temperatures and other factors that contribute to the formation of hurricanes are still in place.

(Reporting by Tom Brown, editing by Sandra Maler)