Tropical Storm Jerry picks up speed, changes direction

MIAMI, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Jerry picked up speed as it meandered out in the Atlantic Ocean Tuesday, settling on a northeasterly track as night fell, U.S. forecasters said.

After sitting still Tuesday, Jerry started out slowly in a westerly direction early Wednesday, then stalled again in late morning before shifting to the northeast and amping up its forward speed to 7 mph at 5 p.m., the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.

Jerry, with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, was about 1,080 miles west-southwest of the Azores.

No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.

The forecasters said the storm was expected to stay on a northeasterly to east-northeasterly path for the next couple of days while picking up more forward speed but little change in wind strength.

Tropical storm-force winds extended outward from the center up to 45 miles.