Tropical Storm Danny Gains Strength

Likely to Become Category 1 Hurricane; Heavy Rains Will Hit Northeast, Could Affect Kennedy Memorial

(AP)  Tropical Storm Danny has strengthened a little in the Atlantic as it moves toward land while Ignacio has been downgraded to a tropical depression far out in the Pacific.

Forecasters say people in the Carolinas and northward to New England should monitor Danny's progress.

Danny has maximum sustained winds of 60 mph early Thursday with slow strengthening expected over the next few days. It was centered about 575 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, N.C., and moving northwest near 10 mph

New England residents were warned Thursday to prepare for the possibility of heavy rains and flooding this weekend.

The National Weather Service said the storm could develop into a Category 1 hurricane Friday, then pass about 75 miles east of Nantucket on Saturday, more than 100 miles closer than Hurricane Bill last weekend. Danny was expected to deliver wind gusts upward of 50 mph on Nantucket and outer Cape Cod, according to meteorologist Bill Simpson of the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass.

"This is not as big as Hurricane Bill, but it's going to be closer," he said.

The greatest area of concern is the area from Boston south to Providence and east, Simpson said. Forecasters expect up to 5 inches of rain in isolated areas, prompting some fears of flooding. Heavy rains, but no heavy flooding, were forecast for New Jersey, while in New York, waves could reach 12 feet and winds on the twin forks of Long Island could gust to 20 to 30 mph, the National Weather Service said.

Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said residents should continue to watch weather forecasts.

"Because of all the wall-to-wall Kennedy memorial stuff going on, this could get lost on people," Judge said.

A private funeral mass for Sen. Edward Kennedy, attended by President Barack Obama and other national and world leaders, was scheduled for Saturday morning at Boston's Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica. Simpson said there could be wind gusts of up to 35 mph and 2 to 3 inches of rain in Boston that day.

Steve Kass, of the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency, said the main concerns were flooding and heavy surf. He said the ground is dry and hard, so runoff could cause flooding in areas that are prone to it. The Rhode Island EMA advised homeowners to clean their gutters and make sure their sump pumps are working. It also suggested people make sure their outdoor furniture is secure in case of high winds.

Boaters and swimmers should be cautious of strong rip currents that will likely accompany the storm, Judge said.

Marina owners along Cape Cod said they're watching forecasts. At Outermost Harbor Marine in Chatham, co-owner Frank Facchetti said he does not expect the usual late-summer surge of vacationers for the final August weekend.

"We assume it's going to be windy and rainy. It's just a question of how windy," Facchetti said.

Joe Sastre, emergency management director for Groton, Conn., said it's too early to tell if southeast Connecticut's cities will need to take any significant measures to protect themselves.

"We're not expecting anything outrageous. We're not in a period where we're having astronomical highs or lows. We'll probably see about a foot-higher than average tides with some wave action," he said.

Residents should stay alert and "definitely be aware of some pretty nasty weather on Saturday and Saturday night," he said, particularly those who use well water and live in low-lying neighborhoods prone to power outages.

Sastre plans to meet with officials from surrounding cities Friday morning to decide if any extraordinary storm alert or protection measures need to be taken.

In Providence, Pete Gaynor, the city's emergency management agency director, said officials were keeping in close contact with the National Weather Service.

"We make adjustments as we go," he said. "Like Bill, we hope we just avoid this one."