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MIAMI - National Hurricane Center forecasters say Hurricane Kyle has formed in the Atlantic Ocean and it's expected to pass near eastern New England.Kyle had top sustained winds near 75 mph Saturday afternoon. The storm is moving north in the open Atlantic at 23 mph and could make landfall anywhere from Maine to Nova Scotia.A hurricane watch is in effect for the Maine coast from Stonington north to Eastport. Hurricane conditions are possible in that area within 36 hours.A tropical storm warning is in effect from Port Clyde south to Cape Elizabeth, an area that includes Portland.At 5 p.m. EDT, the storm's center was located about 315 miles west-northwest of Bermuda.A rare hurricane watch was posted for part of the Maine coast on Saturday as Tropical Storm Kyle roared north toward the region with a threat of conditions similar to one of New England's nor'easter storms."Hurricane season isn't over, " said Maine Emergency Management Agency director Rob McAleer. "It's been a very active season."It was Maine's first hurricane watch in 17 years, the National Weather Service said. Elsewhere in New England, a hurricane warning was posted for Nantucket Island off the coast of Massachusetts in September 1996, according to the weather service office in Taunton, Mass.Two to 4 inches of rain had already fallen along some coastal areas by midday Saturday and the storm was expected to deliver an additional 2 to 4 inches, said Eric Schwibs of the weather service in Gray.At 2 p.m. EDT, Kyle was centered about 300 miles west-northwest of Bermuda and 550 miles south of Nantucket, the National Hurricane Center said in Miami.The storm had top sustained wind near 70 mph and the potential to grow to hurricane strength. It was moving north over the open Atlantic at 20 mph, up from 15 mph during the morning.Kyle's center was forecast to be near eastern New England or the Canadian Maritime provinces late Sunday, the hurricane center said.The hurricane center posted a hurricane watch from Stonington, at roughly the center of the Maine coast, to Eastport, on the border with New Brunswick, Canada. A tropical storm watch extended south to Cape Elizabeth, near Portland.Kyle could make landfall near Eastport, possibly late Sunday, the hurricane center said.That would put the storm's strongest wind in New Brunswick, rather than in Maine, which would get conditions more akin to "a garden variety nor'easter," said Schwibs.The government of Canada issued a tropical storm watch for southwestern New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, the hurricane center said.The weather service also issued flood watches for the southern two-thirds of New Hampshire and southern Maine through Sunday evening. McAleer said the storm's biggest threat in Maine would be the potential for high waves and small stream flooding."We urge everyone to pay close attention to weather warnings, and stay away from any flooded roadways, or fast-running streams,"McAleer said.The Coast Guard prepared crews and equipment for the storm and urged boat owners to secure their vessels in anticipation of high wind and seas that could run 10 to 20 feet high off shore.Eastern Maine's power company, Bangor Hydro-Electric, said it prepared for potential outages and planned to have additional crews on duty.As in the days of Noah....
