ORLANDO, Fla. — Hurricane Earl is moving slowly but is expected to keep strengthening throughout the week and possibly become this year’s first major hurricane.
In its 8 a.m. update on Wednesday, the NHC said maximum sustained winds for Hurricane Earl have increased to about 85 miles per hour and it is expected to become a major hurricane, with winds stronger than 120 mph, by the end of this week — a major storm is classified as a category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds stronger than 110 mph. Previously, Earl strengthened into a hurricane Tuesday night.
At the present time, Earl has hurricane-force winds capable of reaching 40 miles from its center, and tropical-storm-force winds reaching 125 miles from its center. The storm is located about 485 miles south of Bermuda, moving northward at about 6 mph, and is on track to pass to the southeast of Bermuda by Friday morning. The Bermuda Weather Service has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the island.
