Southeastern U.S. prepares for storm

Residents from Florida to South Carolina prepared Saturday for subtropical storm Beryl, which is expected to strike land late Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.

The Miami-based center issued tropical storm warnings for the U.S. East Coast from Florida to South Carolina.

As of Saturday evening, Beryl was 220 miles east of Charleston, S.C., and will bring higher-than-normal tides and rain, the center said. Its maximum sustained winds were at 45 mph and the storm was moving southwest at 9 mph, the center reported.

Beryl may strengthen into a tropical storm within 24 hours.

"A three-day thunderstorm is what it's probably going to be," said Jay Wiggins, emergency management director for Glynn County, which is about 60 miles south of Savannah and includes Brunswick and St. Simons Island.

As Beryl made its way toward shore, Bud, once a Category 3 hurricane, weakened off Mexico's southwestern coast near Puerto Vallarta yesterday and is expected to dissipate within the next two days.

Winds diminished to 30 mph, down from 50 mph, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in an advisory at about 10:30 a.m. New York time yesterday. Bud is expected to keep weakening, the center said.

"We think the issue will not be the wind but the rainfall," said Dan Kottlowski, lead hurricane forecaster for AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pa.

The storm is 15 miles south-southwest of Cabo Corrientes, Mexico, moving north at 3 mph, according to the advisory.

No casualties or damage were reported from the storm in Mexico.