Hanna not yet spurring evacuations

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Officials along the southern Atlantic coast held off ordering evacuations Wednesday amid uncertainty about where Tropical Storm Hanna might come ashore and how strong it will be when it gets there.

Instead, they kept close tabs as Hanna battered the southern Bahamas and Haiti. Forecasters tentatively predicted the storm would return to hurricane strength before hitting somewhere along the South Carolina and North Carolina coasts, probably Saturday.

There is a 20 percent chance it could bring tropical-storm-force winds to New York City, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Hanna, responsible for at least 26 deaths in Haiti, had state disaster planners considering turning major highways into one-way evacuation routes for the roughly 1 million people who live between Savannah and Wilmington, N.C.

Meanwhile, Ike strenghtened into a Category 4 hurricane as it cruised across the Atlantic with top winds at 135 mph. Forecasters said it was too early to determine if any land areas would be affected by Ike.

Following behind was Tropical Storm Josephine, which grew slightly weaker with top winds near 65 mph.

And in the Pacific, Tropical Storm Karina weakened to a fading tropical depression.