MIAMI — Tropical Storm Fiona is now Hurricane Fiona after the storm’s winds increased from 5 mph below hurricane strength to 5 mph into Category 1 status, the National Hurricane Center’s 11 a.m. EDT update said.
The increased strength comes as Fiona hits Puerto Rico exactly 33 years after Hurricane Hugo did so and as parts of the island still haven’t recovered from 2017’s Hurricane Maria.
Fiona now brings 80 mph maximum sustained winds with higher gusts, the NHC said, as it moves west northwest at 8 mph. The storm is about 50 miles south of Ponce, Puerto Rico, but hurricane force winds extend up to 30 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend up to 140 miles from the center.
