N.J. and other states bracing for new storm

For the second weekend in a row, New Jersey and other Northeastern states braced for tropical weather, as Tropical Storm Danny headed north and threatened to turn into a hurricane.

The National Weather Service said the storm could develop into a Category 1 hurricane today, then pass about 75 miles east of Nantucket tomorrow, more than 100 miles closer than Hurricane Bill last weekend. Danny was expected to deliver wind gusts upward of 50 m.p.h. on Nantucket and outer Cape Cod, according to meteorologist Bill Simpson of the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass.

"This is not as big as Hurricane Bill, but it's going to be closer," he said.

Around New England, residents were warned to prepare for the possibility of heavy rains and flooding.

The greatest area of concern is the area from Boston south to Providence and east, Simpson said. Forecasters expect up to 5 inches of rain in isolated areas, prompting some fears of flooding.

Heavy rains, but no heavy flooding, were forecast for New Jersey, while in New York, waves could reach 12 feet and winds on the twin forks of Long Island could gust to 20 to 30 m.p.h., the National Weather Service said.

Peter Judge, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency, said residents should continue to watch weather forecasts.

"This could get lost on people," Judge said, amid the extensive coverage of services for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D., Mass.), who died late Tuesday.