Tropical Storm Dean forms far out in Atlantic

MIAMI, Aug 14 (Reuters) Tropical Storm Dean formed in the Atlantic Ocean midway between Africa and the Caribbean today and could become the first Atlantic hurricane of the 2007 season later in the week, US forecasters said.

The fourth cyclone of the year was days away from any contact with land.

But the US National Hurricane Center's forecast track had it reaching the Lesser Antilles -- the islands of the eastern Caribbean -- late this week. The Lesser Antilles stretch from Trinidad in the south to the British and US Virgin Islands in the north.

At 2030 IST, the center of Dean was located about 1,490 miles (2,400 km) east of the Lesser Antilles and was charging west at about 37 kph, the hurricane center said.

Dean's top sustained winds were about 64 kph. It was expected to gradually strength and become a hurricane with winds of at least 119 kph by Friday.

The storm could be a Category 3 hurricane with winds of up to 204 kph in five days, forecasters said. The strongest and most dangerous hurricanes, known as major hurricanes, are Category 3 to Category 5 storms.

Computer models disagreed on Dean's long-range destination.

One carried it into the Caribbean Sea well south of Jamaica, while another had it hitting the northernmost Lesser Antilles and curving north into the Atlantic Ocean east of the Bahamas, hundreds of miles from the Florida coast.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Center was also eyeing a weather system in the south-central Gulf of Mexico that could become a tropical depression, the forerunner of a tropical storm, in the near future.

Energy markets were keeping a close eye on the system, as roughly a third of US domestic oil and gas production comes from the Gulf of Mexico, while residents of southern Texas and northeastern Mexico were also told to be on alert.

Forecasters have been warning residents of the Caribbean and the US East and Gulf coasts that the peak of the hurricane season is coming. The period from Aug. 20 to mid-October is historically the busiest time for Atlantic hurricanes.

Reuters RSA DB2332