Tropical Depression Brewing in Atlantic

A tropical depression brewing over the open Atlantic was nearing tropical storm strength Monday morning, forecasters said.
At 5 p.m. EDT, the depression had sustained winds near 35 mph, 4 mph shy of becoming a tropical storm and the sixth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
It was centered about 1,165 miles east of the Lesser Antilles and moving northwest at near 12 mph, a path forecasters said they expected to continue for the next day, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The depression would be named Florence if it reaches tropical storm strength. Forecasters said it could become a tropical storm later Tuesday.
It comes on the heels of Tropical Storm Ernesto, which was briefly the season's first Atlantic hurricane.
Ernesto hit the U.S. mainland at tropical storm strength, first moving over Florida, then swinging out to sea before hitting the Carolinas just short of hurricane strength last week. The storm and its remnants wreaked havoc along the East Coast, tearing down tree limbs and power lines and flooding low-lying areas and roads.
About 9,000 homes and business in Connecticut were still without power Monday morning because of the storm. In New York's Westchester County, just north of New York City, 19,000 customers were without power, and residents of Yonkers were advised to boil water because of a power outage at a reservoir.
Last year's Atlantic storm season set a record with 28 named storms and 15 hurricanes, including Katrina, which devastated the Louisiana and Mississippi coasts.
The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season hasn't been as rough as many forecasters initially feared. Forecaster William Gray downgraded his expectations for the season on Friday to five hurricanes, a slightly below-average season. The National Hurricane Center lowered its Atlantic storms forecast in August to between seven and nine hurricanes.
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