First tropical storm of year to threaten U.S. heads for South Carolina

(Reuters) - Tropical Storm Bonnie, the first of the year to threaten the United States, is expected to reach the South Carolina coast on Saturday evening or early Sunday, the National Hurricane Centre said after upgrading the system from a tropical depression.

Bonnie, coming four days before the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season, was on course to make landfall in a warning area in South Carolina between the Savannah River and the Little River Inlet. It was packing sustained winds of up to near 40 miles per hour (65 kph), the centre said on its website.