Northeast U.S. could see tropical storm watches

By Curtis Morgan
McClatchy Newspapers

MIAMI -- Tropical Storm Danny, stronger but still disorganized, wobbled a bit westward Thursday morning but forecasters still expected it to veer more north in the next day and half and skirt the Northeast coast.

The National Hurricane Center's three-day forecast kept the core of the storm off North Carolina. But by Saturday evening, New England and Nova Scotia could be bracing for a possible landfall or blustery sideswipe.

The center said it could post tropical storm watches from North Carolina northward later Thursday.

At 11 a.m. EDT, Danny's center was more than 400 miles off the Florida coast. It was moving erratically to the northwest at 13 mph. Its winds hit 60 mph, with the strongest to the west of the storm's center.

On its current track, forecasters expected Danny to at least moderately strengthen, possibly reaching hurricane strength as it approaches New England.