Tropical Storm Klaus, which strengthened after being downgraded to a depression, threatened the Bahamas and contributed to flooding along Florida's Atlantic shores Monday. The National Hurricane Center in suburban Coral Gables was also tracking Tropical Storm Lili, which formed in the central Atlantic but posed no immediate threat to land. At 6 p.m. EDT, Klaus had top winds of 40 mph, just over the threshold of storm strength. Its center was near 22.2 degrees north latitude and 70.8 degrees west longitude, or about 470 miles southeast of Nassau in the Bahamas. Klaus was moving northwest at 15 mph and was expected to continue on that track for the next day or two, forecasters said. Tropical storm warnings were in effect for the central Bahamas in the Caribbean, the northern Bahamas were under a tropical storm watch and a coastal flood watch was in effect for Florida's east coast and Keys. Some increase in strength was likely during the next day for Klaus, which at one point was strong enough to be the sixth hurricane of the season. The storm was expected to strengthen, but wasn't expected to move over Florida, said Bob Sheets, director of the hurricane center. ``We think it's going to move on a northwest course and most likely will not move over Florida, particularly South Florida.'' However, Klaus-related winds were already partly responsible for beach erosion, rough surf and potentially deadly rip currents along Florida's eastern coast, and heavy winds and rain elsewhere in the state, the center said. Klaus killed at least six people and left 1,500 homeless in the northeastern Caribbean before being downgraded Saturday to a typical storm when its top winds dropped below 73 mph. It was downgraded late Sunday to a tropical depression when its winds dipped below 39 mph. Meanwhile, tropical storm Lili at At 6 p.m. was located near 32.7 degrees north latitude and 47.5 degrees west longitude, or about 1,000 miles west-southwest of the Azores, a group of islands off Portugal. Lili, with top winds near 65 mph, was expected to strengthen during the next day as it moved southwest at 7 mph, forecasters said.
