NAGS HEAD (AP) - Gabrielle became a tropical storm Saturday as it swirled toward North Carolina's Outer Banks, where residents and beach vacationers prepared for rain and the possibility of minor flooding. “It's going to get a little gnarly,” said 51-year-old Sharon Peele Kennedy, a lifetime resident of the Outer Banks who works at the Hatteras Harbor Marina.

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“We're securing, but not too fast,” she said. “There's no evacuation issue at all. This is just a little breeze.”

The National Hurricane Center forecast called for Gabrielle to brush the Outer Banks on Sunday afternoon before curving back out into the Atlantic. Forecasters don't expect the storm to become a hurricane.

At 5 p.m. Saturday, Gabrielle's top sustained winds had dropped to about 40 mph, and was centered 185 miles southeast of Cape Lookout, moving northwest about 8 mph. The storm was expected to strengthen in the next 24 hours, with rain from the system reaching the coastline by Saturday night. The center was forecast to approach land by Sunday afternoon.

Forecasters discontinued a tropical storm watch from Surf City south to Cape Fear. But an alert remained in force for the state's coastline north of Surf City through the Outer Banks and to the Virginia border. “It's not expected to get too strong. There are a lot of negative factors working against it - a lot of dry air aloft,” said James Wingenroth, forecaster with the National Weather Service in Morehead City.

“It's just not looking at this point that it's going to be anything more than a strong tropical storm.”

Officials urged residents and visitors to the Outer Banks, a popular beach vacation spot, to get ready for the storm by securing loose items outside their homes and to remain indoors as the storm blows through. The National Park Service closed all campgrounds on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

The weather service warned that storm surge flooding of up to 3 feet was possible as the storm passed by, with 1 to 3 inches of rain in most coastal areas and up to 5 inches in isolated spots.

“The greatest danger will be flooding in low lying areas and on roads, such as Highway 12 on the Outer Banks,” said North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley. “The most deaths during tropical storms occur when people drive into flood waters and drown. Rip currents will be strong in the ocean. The safest place to be will be indoors.”

Gabrielle formed along an old frontal boundary that stalled about midway between the Southeast coast and Bermuda, drawing the attention of coastal residents for the past few days. It finally spun into a storm late Friday evening.

Gabrielle had formed as a subtropical storm, which is a hybrid system and typically weaker than hurricanes. They share the characteristics of tropical storms, which get their power from the warm ocean, as well as storms that form when warm and cold fronts collide.

The rain will be welcome in the parched Carolinas. Of North Carolina's 100 counties, seven are in exceptional drought, 66 are in extreme drought, 20 are in severe drought and seven are in moderate drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Easley asked Friday that all of the state's local governments to immediately enact voluntary or mandatory water restrictions.