Beryl Now A Tropical Storm, Nearing Coast

Forecasters say Beryl is now a tropical storm as it moves ever closer to the southeastern U.S.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday that Beryl had gotten slightly stronger, with maximum sustained winds now at 65 mph (105 kph). Beryl was centered about 110 miles (177 kilometers) east of Jacksonville, Fla., and about 120 miles (193 kilometers) southeast of Brunswick, Ga.

Beryl is projected to make landfall late Sunday or early Monday, though tropical storm conditions are expected to reach the U.S. coast hours before that.

Once it makes landfall, Beryl will continue dumping rain over parts of Florida and Georgia before slowly moving back out to sea.

On Sunday afternoon, it was moving west near 10 mph (16 kph).

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)