RAIN associated with Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to reach the Hudson Valley and Catskills on Saturday and could total up to 4 inches by the time the storm moves out, according to the National Weather Service.

"We are looking at the potential for up to 4 inches of rain," with the heaviest downpours likely between 4 and 10 p.m., said meteorologist Hugh Johnson.

The rain should end overnight, but the weather service has posted a flood watch for the region through 8 a.m. Sunday.

Though expected to hit the Carolina coast overnight with winds near hurricane strength, Hanna is not expected bring damaging winds to our area. Johnson said local winds today will be between 10 and 20 mph, with gusts of up to 30 mph. Tropical storm-force winds are those between 39 and 73 mph; a tropical weather system is classified as a hurricane if its minimum sustained winds are 74 mph or greater.

Hanna is likely to be a tropical depression, which is weaker than a tropical storm, by the time it reaches New York state, Johnson said.

There could be some scattered power outages locally, but "winds are not going to be a major factor," he said.

He said the storm will not be as bad in the Hudson Valley and Catskills as Floyd was in 1999. That storm brought powerful winds that knocked down numerous trees and power lines.

He likened Hanna's potential local impact to that of a wintertime Nor'easter, only with rain instead of snow.

Johnson said local flooding from Hanna could be "minor to moderate."

The Dutchess County chapter of the American Red Cross said it had performed readiness checks and alerted volunteers who may be asked to help.