Arthur almost a hurricane, warnings issued in North Carolina: NHC

(Reuters) - Tropical Storm Arthur, the first named storm of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season, has almost strengthened into a hurricane, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory on Wednesday. The storm was located about 220 miles (355 km) south-south-east of Charleston, South Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour, the Miami-based weather forecasters said. A hurricane warning has been issued for parts of the North Carolina coast, it added. (Reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bangalore; Editing by Chris Reese)