All Eyes on Kyle

Sept. 26, 2008— -- Parts of New England could be in for a beating if Tropical Storm Kyle stays on its current path.

Kyle, the 11th named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, could become a Category 1 hurricane as early as Saturday, Dennis Feltgen, public affairs officer for the National Hurricane Center, said today.

The storm, packing sustained winds of up to 60 mph, is more than 400 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, and a tropical storm warning has been issued for the island, although Bermuda's not likely to take a direct hit.

"It's kind of a lopsided storm," Feltgen said, noting that tropical storm-force winds extend 180 miles to the northeast but only 20 miles to the southwest.

Forecasters do not yet know exactly where Kyle will make landfall or even if the United States will take a direct hit. But areas in northern New England, including Massachusetts' Cape Cod and Maine, "are in that cone of uncertainty right now," Feltgen said.

"We would urge residents in New England, particularly northern New England, to keep an eye on the storm" and prepare a hurricane plan, he added.

Jay Larcome, dockmaster of the Newburyport Harbor Marina in Newburyport, Mass., said he evacuated about 50 boats from his marina Thursday ahead of both Kyle and a large storm system that's pounding the area today.

"Our particular spot's ... open and exposed to the northeast winds," he told ABCNews.com

The marina is located near the mouth of the Merrimack River, which opens up into the Atlantic Ocean, on the northeast corner of Massachusetts near the New Hampshire border.

"We're very concerned about that storm coming up," Larcome said of Kyle.

The area is shielded some by Plum Island, Larcome said, but the area has been known to get hit hard by winds from passing storms, which cause the docks and boats to bounce around, damaging one another. The evacuated boats were sent about a half-mile up the river.

The marina is also home to one whale-watching boat that typically cancels trips when a large storm is forecasted, he said.

"I think they're watching very closely," he said of area residents and officials. "If this storm moves westerly at all, we'll get hit a lot worse than people are expecting."

Kyle is traveling to the north-northwest at 13 mph, typical for such a storm, Feltgen said. The storm is expected to pick up speed overnight and turn to the north.

Candice Collins, executive director of the Provincetown Chamber of Commerce, said locals there know of the storm, but haven't kicked into storm mode yet. Provincetown is located on the tail end of Cape Cod.

"We haven't had any really big confirmation from the Coast Guard or anything," she said.

So, for now, they'll wait. But the area has gotten maybe a bit too complacent, she said, when it comes to forecasted storms that often either come ashore less potent than predicted or miss them entirely.

"We're way out here in the ocean, and we have all these storms go by," she said. "And we're kind of used to them."

Collins said the town, a popular tourist attraction, is still counting on buses bringing people in for the weekend.

Other areas along the eastern seaboard, Feltgen said, could see indirect effects from Kyle, including high winds and rough seas as the storm passes by.

While Kyle does not pose the same threat as some of the season's earlier hurricanes, including Gustav and Ike, it shouldn't be taken lightly, officials said.

"There could be some significant impact in New England, depending on the track," Feltgen said.

This year has seen an above-average number of tropical storms and hurricanes. The average is 11 named storms per season, which has already been reached this year.

"And we're still in a fairly active part of the season, so we're not done yet," Feltgen said.

The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, with a peak in the middle, lasting until about the third week of October.

Feltgen said the National Hurricane Center is also keeping its eye on two weak disturbances out in the Atlantic, one southwest of the Gulf of Mexico and another in the middle of the ocean. It is too early, he said, to say whether either of those will develop into anything more significant.