Tropical storm menaces Southest seaboard

Tropical Storm Cristobal, the first system to menace the Southeast seaboard this hurricane season, strengthened slightly off the North Carolina coast Sunday, and was expected to dump several inches of rain in some areas of the drought-stricken state.

At 8 a.m. EDT, the center of the storm was about 40 miles south-southwest of Cape Lookout, N.C., and about 105 miles southwest of Cape Hatteras, N.C.

The National Hurricane Center said Cristobal was moving northeast at about 6 mph.

Maximum sustained winds increased about 5 mph Sunday to 50 mph, with some higher gusts.