ORLANDO, Fla. — Hurricane Sam strengthened to a major Category 4 storm Saturday morning while Teresa is now a post-tropical cyclone, the National Hurricane Center said.
Sam, the seventh hurricane of the season, now has maximum sustained winds of 150 mph and higher gusts and is moving west-northwest at 10 mph, according to the NHC’s 5 p.m. update.
The storm’s reach is fairly small with its hurricane-force winds reaching 15 miles from its core, and its tropical-storm-force winds extending 60 miles. As of the latest update, Sam is 1,025 miles east-southeast from the northern Leeward Islands. Sam is forecast to decrease in forward speed over the weekend, said NHC hurricane specialist John Cangialosi.
