Bermuda: Tropical Storm Florence mustered a bit more strength in the open Atlantic yesterday and could grow into a hurricane near the British territory of Bermuda early next week, US forecasters said.
Florence is the sixth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season and would become the second hurricane if its top sustained winds hit 119km/h (74mph).
The storm was about 2,084km (1,295 miles) southeast of Bermuda and moving west-northwest at 19km/h (12mph), the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.
The swirling mass of thunderstorms had top sustained winds of 85km/h (50mph), up slightly from Tuesday. It was slowly strengthening in the open Atlantic and could become a hurricane by tomorrow, the centre said.
Computer tracking models projected Florence would hook sharply north over the weekend. That path would spare the Caribbean islands and keep Florence away from the southeastern US coast but could imperil the mid-Atlantic island of Bermuda early next week.
The six-month hurricane season that began on June 1st has only seen one brief hurricane so far.
Tropical Storm Ernesto reached hurricane strength near Haiti late last month and made landfall twice in the US as a tropical storm - first in Florida, where it was barely noticeable, and then on the mid-Atlantic coast, where it poured torrential rain on several states.
The 2005 season broke all records with 28 tropical storms, of which 15 became hurricanes, including Hurricane Katrina. Katrina devastated New Orleans just over a year ago, killing some 1,500 people along the US Gulf Coast and causing $80 billion (€62.6 billion) in damage.
Forecasters originally predicted this hurricane season would be busier than average. But most have cut their forecasts amid early signs of the El Niño weather phenomenon that helps to squelch hurricane formation in the Atlantic.
- Reuters