Earl hits hurricane status, targets Bermuda for Thursday

Tropical storm Earl has made the jump to hurricane status and could put Bermuda in its sights by Thursday, the US National Hurricane Center has warned.

Bermuda is now under a Tropical Storm Warning. Swells will reach Bermuda by tonight (September 7) ahead of the storm's pass to the southeast of Bermuda late Thursday and Thursday night. Tropical Storm conditions are expected on Bermuda beginning Thursday afternoon.

As of 9:00 UCT Earl was about 785 km south of Bermuda and already bearing maximum sustained wind speeds of 130 km/h. Earl is expected to strengthen "during the next couple of days" and become a ‘major’ hurricane late Thursday or Thursday night.

Strong westerly wind shear had been hindering Earl's development some to date, but that is expected to wane to moderate levels within 12 hours and low levels within 36 hours, the NHC said in its 9:00 UCT update.

Earl is moving toward the north at near 9 km/h, and a slow northward motion is expected to continue through tonight. A turn toward the north-northeast and then northeast with an increase in forward speed is expected to begin on Thursday and continue through early Saturday.

Hurricane Danielle remains active, but as an anomalous North Atlantic Hurricane, is heading harmlessly northeast over open waters. An eastern tropical Atlantic disturbance several hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde islands is currently given a 50% chance of cyclone formation.

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