August 11, 2005 8:00 AM, EDT

Tropical Storm Irene Strengthens; Could Track to East Coast

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ropical Storm Irene gained strength in the Atlantic overnight and could become a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said Thursday.

The center said the chances of the 9th tropical storm of a busy Atlantic hurricane season striking the United States were uncertain, but Irene appeared to be on a course that could take it to the Carolinas or further north up the East Coast.

t 5 a.m. Eastern time Thursday, Irene was about 700 miles south-southeast of Bermuda, tracking west-northwest at 14 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph. Storms with sustained winds over 35 mph are considered tropical storms.

Some strengthening was expected over the next 24 hours as the storm hit warmer waters in the Atlantic, weather reports said.

Irene first formed into a tropical storm Sunday but then faded before strengthening.

Forecasters in early August raised their predictions of the number of named storms for this hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, to 18 to 21, from an earlier forecast of 15 named storms.

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