Tropical Storm Kyle gathering strength on U.S. approach

by Stevie Smith - Sep 26 2008, 13:00

By comparison to the carnage wrought by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the United States has emerged largely unscathed from recent brushes with raging storms such as Gustav, Hanna and Ike. However, the unusually busy hurricane season isn’t yet over and Tropical Storm Kyle is building in strength as it approaches the country’s East Coast.

Set to make its presence felt as the eleventh major storm to swing in from the Atlantic over the course of the summer, Kyle is already posing an ominous threat to The Bermuda Islands as it continues to gather in intensity, reports the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Earlier in the week, eagle-eyed forecasters suggested that Tropical Storm Kyle, at that time around 600 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, could well be in a position to batter the U.S. coastline some time over the weekend based on its 8mph progress and sustained winds of 45mph.

The forecasters also noted a second potential tropical storm, situated some 225 miles southeast of the North Carolina/South Carolina border, which they predicted could cause coastal flooding, high surf and dangerous rip currents based on its 10mph progress and strong storm winds.

Since those initial evaluations, the National Hurricane Center has said that Tropical Storm Kyle is indeed building in force as it moves northward through the Atlantic, with its progress speed increasing to 13mph and its storm winds now pushing 50mph.

Perhaps more worrying for U.S. residents located throughout the exposed East Coast is that forecasters fully expect Kyle to continue gathering in strength as it creeps ever closer to making landfall in the following days.

From that perspective, residents can only hope that Kyle follows the seasonal trend set down by the likes of Gustav and Hanna, and its power subsides in order to help avoid any potential coastal evacuation.

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