Tropical Storm Chris Prompts Warnings

(AP)  Tropical Storm Chris strengthened Tuesday as it approached the eastern edge of the Caribbean, prompting a run on groceries and gas as people prepared for the third named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The storm had top winds of nearly 45 mph as it passed over the Leeward Islands, and was expected to gather strength as it approached the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. Forecasters doubted it would become a hurricane.

As skies darkened and rain began to fall, people began the familiar ritual of stocking up on gas, food and candles. Tourists at a resort just outside the Antiguan capital said they had no plans to evacuate.

"I am not going to panic," said Maxwell Stevens of New Brunswick, New Jersey. "I will take it in stride."

A tropical storm warning was posted for all the Leewards, including Antigua, Anguilla, St. Kitts and St. Maarten, Puerto Rico and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, the Hurricane Center said.

At 5 p.m. EDT, the storm was centered about 55 miles northeast of Antigua and was moving west-northwest at almost 10 mph. It was expected to pass over the Leewards during the night and skirt the northern edge of Puerto Rico on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in the storm-hardened Caribbean, life went on as normal, though disaster officials urged people to take precautions and told fishermen to haul their boats out of the water.

The Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico could receive up to eight inches (203 millimeters) of rain and could experience flash floods and mudslides, forecasters said.

The U.S. National Weather Service said Puerto Rico would begin to experience strong gusts of wind and heavy rain Wednesday afternoon.

An aircraft flew into the region on Tuesday to get a better estimate of the storm, which was not expected to form into a hurricane, forecasters said.

"We don't anticipate this system will explode and become a hurricane or anything like that," said hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart. "This type of storm is not going to be a significant wind producer, but it will produce heavy rainfall because it is moving slow."

Long-range forecasts put the storm anywhere from south of Cuba to Florida by late in the weekend.

The first named storm of the 2006 season, Tropical Storm Alberto, swept over Florida in mid-June, then plowed northward along the U.S. coast past the Outer Banks. It was blamed for one drowning.

Last season was the worst in more than 150 years of records. A record number of tropical storms and hurricanes formed, including the devastating Hurricane Katrina.