Hurricane Noel expected to gain in size but not strength
NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) - Hurricane Noel is expected to grow in size but not strength as it tracks northeastward off the U.S. Atlantic Seaboard today.

The Category One hurricane is moving over open ocean after lashing the Caribbean as a tropical storm.

Forecasters don't expect the center to hit the U.S. They say its path will probably take it over Nova Scotia instead.

Still, the effects may be felt along the East Coast. The 80-mile-an-hour storm is hundreds of miles off the Carolinas but could bring two to four inches of rain to North Carolina's Outer Banks. Parts of coastal New England might get six inches.

Flooding and mudslides from Noel killed at least 115 people in the Caribbean, making it the deadliest Atlantic storm this year.


(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)