Hurricane Kyle churns toward Canada

TERRA.WIRE

Hurricane Kyle churns toward Canada
BOSTON, Massachusetts, Sept 28 (AFP) Sep 28, 2008
Hurricane Kyle veered away from New England Sunday and sped its ripping winds and pounding rains straight toward southeastern Canada, the US National Hurricane Center said.

At 1500 GMT Kyle was moving north-northeast at 24 miles (39 kilometers) per hour with sustained winds of 80 miles an hour (130 kilometers an hour) with higher gusts, making it a category one storm on the five level Saffir-Simpson scale.

"The center of Kyle should pass east of the coast of Maine later today and tonight and move near or over Nova Scotia and New Brunswick tonight and early Monday," the center said in a statement.

The storm is expected to weaken as it passes over colder Canadian waters.

"The system should lose tropical characteristics on Monday," the center said.

Kyle was centered some 355 miles (575 kilometers) southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Canada posted a hurricane watch and tropical storm warnings in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick provinces.

The Maine Yacht Center in Portland, Maine, which is likely to take a beating from the storm if not a direct hit, said it had turned off the electrcity and fuel lines at the marina, just in case.

"We've turned all the vessels toward the wind and right now there's no panic," dockmaster Alexandre Hofmann told AFP. "Boat owners keep calling to check on the marine forecaster reports," he said, adding "We're OK for now."