Tropical Storm Danny Forms, Could Strengthen as it Moves Toward East Coast

Less than a week after the Atlantic coast's brush with Hurricane Bill, tropical storm Danny has formed near the Caribbean and forecasters say it could get stronger as it moves toward the U.S.

Source: Source: Associated Press, Canwest | Published on August 27, 2009

The storm has top winds of 45 mph and is moving to the west-northwest at 18 mph. The current forecast has the storm on a path to clip the U.S. East Coast over the weekend, but a storm's track can be difficult to predict days in advance. People in the Bahamas and the southeastern U.S. are advised to monitor the storm.

Danny is expected to hurl wind and rain over eastern sections of North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey and New York State, then New England and eastern Quebec before hitting Atlantic Canada.

The forecast takes it between Bermuda and the U.S Eastern Seaboard by Saturday, according to Dennis Feltgen, a spokesperson for the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

He said Danny is not expected to get stronger than a Category 1 hurricane, and it may diminish as it nears Canada.

"It's going to be interacting with an area of low pressure in the upper atmosphere and it may actually turn extra-tropical as it gets up toward the northeast and the Canadian Maritime provinces," Feltgen said. "So we don't see it getting any stronger, but it's still going to be a good wind and rain maker."

Canadian Hurricane Centre spokesperson Bob Robichaud said people along the storm path should pay close attention to Danny, but he agrees there is a lot of uncertainty about its strength and track.

"Certainly, whenever you have a hurricane forecast to head your way .. . . it's something that bears watching. I mean it could change over the next few days, and typically it always does, but definitely people in the projected track should pay close attention."

Danny is the fourth named storm of the hurricane season.

Projections call for between seven and 12 named storms this hurricane season.