(Reuters) - Hurricane Maria is forecast to become a tropical storm Tuesday night or Wednesday, with large swells affecting much of the U.S. east coast from Florida through southern New England, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Monday. Maria, a category 1 hurricane, is about 280 miles (450 km) south-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, with maximum sustained winds of 80 miles per hour (130 kph), the Miami-based weather forecaster said.  The center of Maria will pass east of the coast of North Carolina during the next couple of days,  NHC said. 