The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that the tropical storm Kyle has ‘upgraded’ and strengthened into a hurricane, poised to strike New England and Canada’s Maritime provinces late Sunday. In a bulletin issued on Saturday, the Miami-based center reported that: “Maximum sustained winds are near 75 miles per hour  ... Kyle is a category one hurricane on the ‘five level’ Saffir-Simpson hurricane intensity scale.

The disturbed weather system, which caused Kyle to develop, drenched Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Caribbean island of Hispaniola, before it moved north into the Atlantic.

The storm was churning north at a relatively brisk clip of 24 mph, and was expected to veer northeastward in coming hours. The NHC said: “A little additional strengthening is possible during the next 24 hours,” adding, however, that “weakening is expected to begin late Sunday or Monday,” as the storm passes over cooler Atlantic waters.

According to forecasts, the hurricane - spawned by the 11th named storm of a busy and destructive Atlantic hurricane season - would dump approximately 6 inches of rain over parts of New England, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island through Monday. It was also likely to cause large and dangerous surf in some areas.

A hurricane watch and tropical storm warnings are in effect along the coast of the northeastern US state of Maine, and in Canada’s Nova Scotia and  provinces.

Forecasters have predicted that as many as 18 cyclones can strike in the six-month hurricane season, which runs through November 30. The warm sea temperatures and other factors that contribute to the formation of hurricanes are still in place.