Forecasters said Friday that they do not expect Hurricane Noel's center to make landfall in the United States, but some parts the East Coast could feel the effects of the storm.
After drenching the Bahamas and Cuba as a tropical storm on Thursday, Noel strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane.
On Friday, the storm packed sustained winds of 80 mph. Its center was about 425 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C., officials with the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Noel is moving to the north-northeast at about 17 mph, but is expected to pick up speed.
"We don't expect the center to cross the U.S. coast," said Jack Beven, a hurricane specialist at the center. "The track would take the center of the system over Nova Scotia."
But Beven noted that Noel "is going to increase rather significantly in size" and its effects could be felt in the United States.
Forecasters say 2 to 4 inches of rain could fall on North Carolina's Outer Banks, while isolated areas of New England might see 6 inches.
Noel lashed the Caribbean earlier this week, triggering floods and mudslides that killed at least 124 people. It is the deadliest Atlantic storm this year.
Hurricane Felix — a Category 5 storm — killed 101 people when it lashed the Caribbean and slammed into the Nicaraguan and Honduran coasts in early September.
On Friday, United Nations helicopters were waiting out driving rain that lashed Haiti before they could assess flood damage from Noel, which killed 43 and left thousands homeless. The new showers from Noel's outer bands raised fears of further deaths in a country prone to catastrophic flooding.
In the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispaniola with Haiti, the rains largely let up, allowing in flights carrying urgently needed relief supplies.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic confirmed 79 deaths and said at least 62,000 were left homeless by the storm.
Cuba, Jamaica and the Bahamas were also pounded by Noel.
From NPR reports and The Associated Press
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