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 reaching the strength of a Category 4 storm.
In its 2 pm. EDT update on Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center 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 125 mph, by the end of this week. A major hurricane is classified as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds stronger than 110 mph. Earl strengthened into a hurricane Tuesday night.
Earl battled with vertical wind shear for much of Wednesday morning but appeared to be holding its structure together, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration P3 hurricane hunter aircraft.
