Tropical Storm Kyle strengthens in Atlantic
MIAMI, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Kyle swirled over the Atlantic Ocean on Friday and threatened to strengthen into a hurricane by Saturday night as it bore down on the northeast U.S. coast, U.S. forecasters said.
Kyle, which formed on Thursday, had sustained winds near 60 mph (95 kph) as it moved on a path that could take it to landfall by Sunday in New England or Canada's maritime provinces as a minimal Category 1 hurricane on the five-step hurricane intensity scale.
At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), the 11th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season was located about 475 miles (760 km) south-southwest of Bermuda and moving to the north-northwest at about 13 mph (20 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
The system drenched Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Hispaniola for days before moving north into the Atlantic. Authorities in Puerto Rico said at least four people were killed and scores of homes were flooded.
The Miami-based hurricane center said Bermuda had issued a tropical storm watch because of the weather system and said further strengthening was forecast during the next 24 hours, with Kyle possibly reaching hurricane strength by Saturday night.
It was the first tropical storm to form in the Atlantic-Caribbean region since Tropical Storm Josephine on Sept. 2, a lengthy lull in what has been a busy and destructive hurricane season so far.
Forecasters had predicted the six-month season, which runs through Nov. 30, could produce up to 18 cyclones and the warm sea temperatures, low wind shear and other factors that contribute to the formation of hurricanes are still in place.
Forecasters on Friday were also keeping an eye on an area of disturbed weather in the oil-rich Bay of Campeche, as the system moved slowly eastward toward Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
The hurricane center said the system would likely move inland over the western Yucatan before any significant development.
Energy traders watch for storms that could enter the Gulf of Mexico and threaten oil and gas production facilities. (Reporting by Tom Brown, editing by Eric Beech)
