Tropical US storm gathers strength

Tropical Storm Gabrielle strengthened slightly today as the storm headed toward North Carolina’s Outer Banks, but its rain and winds were not expected to inflict much punishment as it slogged across the state’s famous chain of barrier islands.

Forecasters said Gabrielle carried top sustained winds of about 50 mph today, and the storm could still get a touch stronger – though not to hurricane level - before moving across the Outer Banks. After a brief landfall over the string of barrier islands and Pamlico Sound, Gabrielle was expected to take a sharp turn back into the Atlantic.