Tropical Storm Grace forms over eastern Atlantic

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Grace formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean on Saturday with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph (65 kph) and was heading west on a path that could take it in the direction of the Caribbean, the National Hurricane Center said. It became the seventh named storm of the current hurricane season, the Miami-based hurricane center said. The storm was located about 285 miles (460 km) southwest of the Cape Verde islands, with tropical storm-force winds extending outward up to 35 miles (56 km) from the center, the NHC said. "Some additional strengthening is expected during the next day or so, with weakening possible by Monday," it said in an advisory. Erika, a tropical storm that killed 20 people on the Caribbean island of Dominica and at least one person in Haiti, fell apart on Aug. 29 over eastern Cuba. (Reporting by Will Dunham)