FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The second hurricane of the season formed Tuesday night and is expected to strengthen into the season’s first major hurricane with maximum sustained winds of up to 125 mph, forecasters said Tuesday.
Tropical Storm Earl strengthened into a hurricane earlier than initially expected. As of 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Earl had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph and was located about 550 miles south of Bermuda, moving north at 6 mph.
Hurricane Earl is expected to become a major hurricane by Friday, the 8 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center said.
Earl’s hurricane-force winds extended out up to 30 miles from its center while tropical storm-force winds extended out up to 125 miles.
By Friday, it is forecast to be a major hurricane with winds of at least 115 mph. The storm is expected to continue moving northward, before taking a turn to the northeast, curving away from the United States, in the next few days.
It is not expected to be a threat for Florida, though it could affect Bermuda. As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Bermuda is under a tropical storm watch. The National Hurricane Center said Bermuda could see tropical storm conditions by Thursday afternoon.
“There has been some shift westward in the expected track of Earl, bringing it closer to the island of Bermuda. Should this trend continue, gusty winds and torrential rainfall would be a possibility,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Alex DaSilva said.
Earl’s center is expected to pass to the southeast of Bermuda by Friday morning.
Hurricane Danielle’s maximum sustained winds were 75 mph as of the 5 p.m. advisory, as it moved east-northeast at 7 mph over the open Atlantic.
Danielle was weakened, but holding steady, over the northern Atlantic Ocean, and forecasters expect it to continue to do so over the next few days. It was producing a large area of dangerous waters in the northern Atlantic on Tuesday afternoon, forecasters said.
“After transitioning into a tropical rainstorm, there is some chance that Danielle could bring rain to western Europe next week. The extent and location of the rain will depend on the exact track of the storm,” AccuWeather senior meteorologist Adam Douty said.
Forecasters say an area of low pressure located off Africa’s west coast could form into a tropical depression this week, and gradual development is possible as this system moves generally west-northwestward in the Atlantic.
As of Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center had increased its chances of development to 50% over the next 48 hours and 60% over the next five days.
A second tropical wave is expected to emerge off Africa this week. It has been given a 20% chance of developing over the next five days.
Danielle and Earl are the first named storms to form in the Atlantic since early July, when Tropical Storm Colin formed offshore of the Carolinas. This comes after a quiet August with no named storms, something that happened for only the third time since 1961.
The 2020 hurricane season set a record with 30 named systems, while 2021′s season was the third most active with 21 named systems. An average year calls for 14 named storms.
The next named storm to form will be Fiona.
Forecasters say dry air, Saharan dust and wind shear have been among the reasons there haven’t been more storms this year.
Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.
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