Tropical Storm Fay to bring heavy rainfall, winds to US East Coast

WASHINGTON - Newly-formed Tropical Storm Fay, located about 70 miles (about 113 km) northeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, is expected to bring "heavy rainfall and gusty winds," the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in a series of advisories Thursday.

The storm is moving northward east of the North Carolina coast and is expected to bring heavy rainfall and gusty winds to portions of the mid-Atlantic coast and southern New England, the center said.

Fay is expected to produce 3 to 5 inches (about 7.62 to 12.7 cm) of rain along and near the track of Fay across the mid-Atlantic states into southeast New York and southern New England, the center warned, adding the rains may result in flash flooding where the heaviest amounts occur.

Tropical storm conditions are expected to first reach the coast within the warning area on Friday and spread northward through the warning area Friday night.

The center of Fay is forecast to move near the mid-Atlantic coast on Friday, and move inland over the northeast United States on Saturday.

With maximum sustained winds near 45 mph (75 km/h) with higher gusts, some slight strengthening of Fay is forecast Thursday and Friday, while weakening should begin after the center moves inland on Saturday, the center said, adding that tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next five days.