This NOAA satellite image taken Friday at 1:15 a.m. ET shows Kyle, which grew into a hurricane Saturday, located to the southwest of Bermuda. (Weather Underground/Associated Press)

Tropical storm Kyle has grown into a Category 1 hurricane over the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said Saturday evening.

With winds of up to 120 km/h, the hurricane could make landfall anywhere between Nova Scotia and Maine, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

The storm is aimed directly for Saint John, according to Guy Roussel, a meteorologist at the Canadian Hurricane Centre. Kyle is expected to lash the Maritimes with up to 140 mm of rain and winds reaching up to 120 km/h by late Sunday or early Monday morning.

"Rainfalls will be kind of torrential in some areas. Within 12 hours you could get up to 100 mm of rain," Roussel said.

"That would cause rivers to flood too and also cause flooding in the city, a lot of run-off and conditions like that."

A hurricane watch has been issued for Shelburne, Yarmouth and Digby counties in southwestern Nova Scotia. A tropical storm watch is in place for the rest of the province and southwestern New Brunswick, according to the Canadian Hurricane Centre.

A hurricane watch is also in place for parts of the coast of Maine — the state's first hurricane watch in 17 years, according to the U.S. National Weather Service

Kyle, which is the 11th named storm this season in the Atlantic, was about 500 kilometres west-northwest of Bermuda by 5 p.m. ET Saturday, moving north at 37 km/h.

N.B., N.S. will be hit hardest

Kyle could make landfall near Eastport, Maine, by late Sunday, the U.S. hurricane centre said, putting the storm's strongest winds in New Brunswick.

New Brunswick and southwestern Nova Scotia will be hit the hardest, CBC meteorologist Steve Stringer said Saturday, although winds are predicted to settle down as the storm moves through the Bay of Fundy.

The Canadian Red Cross said it has 650 vounteers on standby across the region.

The storm comes on the anniversary of Hurricane Juan, which killed four people in the Maritimes in 2003. Damage was estimated at $250 million.

And Maritimers are still cleaning out hundreds of flooded basements after being hit by tropical storm Hannah just a couple of weeks ago.

Power outages possible

Environment Canada issued special weather warnings on Friday for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island as Kyle tracked northward.

New Brunswick Emergency Measures Organization issued a severe weather advisory in the afternoon, warning residents living along streams and rivers to be prepared for localized flooding.

The storm also has the potential to create power outages and damage to trees and property, said EMO spokesman Andy Morton.

"People should look around their property and secure any loose items that might be affected by wind," Morton said.

The storm has already hit the Carolinas in the United States, dumping about 100 mm of rain along the coast. As the system moves up the mid-Atlantic seaboard, it is expected to bring storm winds, coastal flooding, high surf and rip currents to the region.

With files from the Associated Press