Tropical Storm Turns Toward N. Carolina : Weather: Danielle’s advance prompts coastal flood warnings as far north as Rhode Island.

Tropical Storm Danielle swung west toward North Carolina with 45 m.p.h. winds Thursday, pushing high seas over low-lying coastal islands.

Gale and coastal flood warnings were posted as far north as Rhode Island as pressure built between Danielle and a mass of high pressure north of it. A new moon helped make tides even higher, and forecasters predicted beach erosion.

The storm had already produced gusty wind along the North Carolina coast but wasn’t expected to hit land until today, said Jack Beven, meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center.

“It’s still not moving very fast,” he said.

On Thursday night, waves broke through dunes in many places at high tide along the Outer Banks, barrier islands off the North Carolina coast.

There was some flooding and two houses damaged by earlier storms collapsed, the National Weather Service said.

At 8 p.m., Danielle was centered about 90 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras. The storm was heading west at about 5 m.p.h.

A gradual turn to the west-northwest was expected today.

Tropical storm warnings went into effect late Thursday afternoon from Cape Lookout, N.C., north to the Virginia line. A tropical storm watch went into effect from north of the Virginia-North Carolina line to Fenwick Island, Del., including Chesapeake Bay south of Windmill Point.

Farther north, New Jersey braced for a storm surge that forecasters said could result in flooding worse than that of last Halloween’s storm which pounded the coast with high tides and strong winds, causing $72 million in damage.

Tides about three feet higher than normal along the beach and four feet higher than normal in the back bays were expected because of the combined effects of Danielle, a new moon and a high-pressure system over the area, forecaster Bill Christ said.

The National Weather Service issued a coastal flood warning for all 127 miles of New Jersey shore.

Meanwhile, forecasters continued tracking Hurricane Charley and Tropical Storm Bonnie, both far out in the Atlantic.

Charley became more organized early Thursday, developing a well-defined eye and boosting its top sustained winds to 110 m.p.h. The system reached hurricane strength--with top sustained wind of 74 m.p.h.--west of the Azores on Wednesday.

“The main concern is for the Azores. The hurricane is a powerful hurricane, and it’s moving a little and it’s heading toward the Azores,” hurricane specialist Lixion Avila said.

Thursday evening, Charley was centered about 410 miles west-southwest of Lajes Air Base on the Azores’ Terceira Island.

The storm was moving northeast near 3 m.p.h. and was expected to maintain that course and speed today. No immediate strengthening was forecast.

In the north Atlantic, Bonnie was downgraded to a tropical storm when its top winds dropped to 70 m.p.h. Thursday.

The system continued to head southwest at 3 m.p.h. and wasn’t expected to a change its speed before the weekend. The storm was centered about 645 miles south of Cape Race, Newfoundland.