Almost a hurricane, Isidore nears Cuba

Satellite image of Tropical Storm Isidore at 10:40 a.m. EDT Thursday

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RELATED National Hurricane Center  FACTOID Tropical Storm Isidore At 2 p.m. EDT Thursday Latitude: 20.3 degrees north Longitude: 81.7 degrees west

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Tropical Storm Isidore neared hurricane strength Thursday as it moved toward western Cuba and the Isle of Youth with heavy rainfall amounts, forecasters in Miami, Florida, said.

Carrying 70 mph sustained winds, Isidore at 2 p.m. EDT was centered about 120 miles southeast of the Isle of Youth off Cuba's southern shore in the Gulf of Batabano.

The Isle of Youth joined western and central Cuba under a hurricane warning. A hurricane watch was in effect for Sancti-Spiritus and Ciego de Avila, Cuba, and a tropical storm warning covered the Cayman Islands.

The storm is expected to become a hurricane later Thursday. A hurricane is a violent tropical cyclone with constant wind speeds of 74 mph.

Forecasters said a tropical storm watch or warning could be issued for the lower Florida Keys later Thursday as the storm moved west-northwest near 8 mph.

Forecasters said western and central Cuba could expect 20 to 30 inches of rain over the next two or three days, while rainfall in Jamaica will diminish with Isidore's passing.

Meanwhile, another tropical storm barreled into waters east of Canada. Tropical Storm Josephine, born 700 miles east of Bermuda on Tuesday, was 590 miles east-southeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland, at 11 a.m. EDT, heading to the northeast at 31 mph.

The storm merged with a cold front and lost its tropical characteristics, forecasters said, but reports from ships in the area indicated Josephine was carrying 60 mph sustained winds.

In the Atlantic hurricane season to date, only Gustav has reached hurricane strength, and it did so after pounding North Carolina's Outer Banks as a tropical storm and then speeding to the northeast toward Canada. It did not hit hurricane strength until shortly before blowing over Nova Scotia.

Gusty winds, hail forecast for parts of U.S. • Storms sweep across nation • Storms expected in central U.S. • Thunderstorms across U.S.

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