Puerto Rico, USVI prepare for Tropical Storm Danny

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Danny is now a tropical storm.

The former hurricane weakened on Saturday as it approached the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, where it's expected to bring little relief to residents of the drought-stricken region.

The storm is located 520 miles east-southeast of the Leeward Islands, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. It's traveling west at 14 mph.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says it expects Danny to be near the Leeward Islands by Sunday night or Monday morning, and reach the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico early Tuesday.

Meteorologists say it's too early to predict how much rainfall Danny would generate over Puerto Rico, which has implemented extreme water-rationing measures since May as it struggles with one of the worst droughts in its history.

Danny had been expected to hit Puerto Rico's southeast coast, but forecasters say the storm instead is likely to glance the island's northeast region and drop the heaviest rains over open waters north of the U.S. territory.

%@AP Links

210-a-09-(Robbie Berg, forecaster, National Hurricane Center, in AP interview)-"a good thing"-Forecaster Robbie Berg says Danny could bring some much needed rain to some of the islands in the Caribbean. (22 Aug 2015)

<<CUT *210 (08/22/15)££ 00:09 "a good thing"

209-a-10-(Robbie Berg, forecaster, National Hurricane Center, in AP interview)-"Wednesday and Thursday"-Forecaster Robbie Berg says there is still some threat to land, even though Danny has weakened. (22 Aug 2015)

<<CUT *209 (08/22/15)££ 00:10 "Wednesday and Thursday"

207-a-10-(Robbie Berg, forecaster, National Hurricane Center, in AP interview)-"causing the weakening"-Forecaster Robbie Berg says Danny is weakening and is no longer classified a hurricane. (22 Aug 2015)

<<CUT *207 (08/22/15)££ 00:10 "causing the weakening"

208-a-09-(Robbie Berg, forecaster, National Hurricane Center, in AP interview)-"other smaller islands"-Forecaster Robbie Berg says a weakened Tropical Storm Danny is moving closer to some islands in the Caribbean. (22 Aug 2015)

<<CUT *208 (08/22/15)££ 00:09 "other smaller islands"