Tropical Storm Hanna forms in western Atlantic

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The eighth tropical storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season, Hanna, formed in the western Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said in its latest advisory.

At about 11 a.m. EDT (4 p.m. British time), NHC said the Centre of Hanna was located about 305 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands, moving west-northwest at about 12 miles per hour, with maximum sustained winds near 40 mph.

NHC said the system could strengthen into a hurricane with winds of about 80 mph over the weekend.

Computer tracks showed Hanna moving northwest, then possibly turning west toward Florida or the Southeast U.S. coast.

(Reporting by Joe Silha, editing by John Picinich)