Depression grows into tropical storm
Beryl prompts warning for parts of North Carolina coast
Tuesday, July 18, 2006; Posted: 5:16 p.m. EDT (21:16 GMT)
MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- The second tropical storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season formed off the North Carolina coast Tuesday, and a tropical storm watch was issued for the eastern part of the state.
Meteorologists estimated Tropical Storm Beryl's maximum sustained winds at 40 mph. The storm was upgraded from a tropical depression Tuesday afternoon.
At 5 p.m. ET (2100 GMT), the storm was centered about 180 miles (290 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras and was moving toward the north at nearly 6 mph (9 kph), the National Hurricane Center said. A slow turn toward the north-northwest was expected later Tuesday or Wednesday.
A hurricane hunter aircraft was sent into the storm Tuesday to acquire detailed information for forecasters, hurricane specialist Jamie Rhome said.
However, early indications were that the system's sustained wind wouldn't reach 74 mph, the threshold for a hurricane.
"We're certainly not expecting anything major, a major hurricane or anything like that," Rhome said.
The early forecast track indicated that the system could drift toward the west and be near the North Carolina coast by the middle or later part of the week, Rhome said.
The tropical storm watch, indicating tropical storm conditions are possible within 36 hours, extended along the coast from north of Cape Lookout to south of Currituck Beach Light.
The first named storm of the June-November Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Alberto, splashed ashore in Florida in mid-June, then plowed northward along the coast past North Carolina's Outer Banks. It was blamed for one drowning.
Experts say the Atlantic Ocean is in the middle of a cycle of increased hurricane activity. Last year, there were a record 28 named storms and 15 hurricanes, including destructive Katrina.
