Tropical depression forms off Carolina coast
Could become Tropical Storm Beryl by evening
MIAMI, Florida (AP) -- The second tropical depression of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season formed off the North Carolina coast Tuesday, and a tropical storm watch was issued for the eastern part of the state.
Meteorologists said the depression could strengthen into a tropical storm as early as Tuesday evening.
Its top sustained wind speed late Tuesday morning was 35 mph. If that reached 39 mph, the depression would become Tropical Storm Beryl.
At 11 a.m. ET, the depression was centered about 220 miles south-southeast of Cape Hatteras and was moving toward the north at about 5 mph, the National Hurricane Center said.
A slow turn toward the north-northwest or northwest was expected later Tuesday or Wednesday.
A hurricane hunter aircraft was sent into the storm Tuesday to acquire detailed information for forecasters, hurricane specialist Jamie Rhome said.
However, early indications were that the system's sustained wind wouldn't reach 74 mph, the threshold for a hurricane.
"We're certainly not expecting anything major, a major hurricane or anything like that," Rhome said.
The early forecast track indicated that the system could drift toward the west and be near the North Carolina coast by the middle or later part of the week, Rhome said.
The tropical storm watch, indicating tropical storm conditions are possible within 36 hours, extended along the coast from north of Cape Lookout to south of Currituck Beach Light.
The first named storm of the June-November Atlantic hurricane season, Tropical Storm Alberto, splashed ashore in Florida in mid-June, then plowed northward along the coast past North Carolina's Outer Banks. It was blamed for one drowning.
Experts say the Atlantic Ocean is in the middle of a cycle of increased hurricane activity. Last year, there were a record 28 named storms and 15 hurricanes, including destructive Katrina.
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