Danielle Becomes First Major Hurricane of the Season

At 11pm last night Hurricane Danielle remained at Category 2 status, but with very warm water beneath and low wind shear above the system, Danielle rapidly strengthened into the first major hurricane of the 2010 season overnight. As of the 5am advisory from the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Danielle is a Category 4 storm with winds of 135 mph.
Forecast models continue to indicate that Danielle will remain over Atlantic waters and will not threaten the United States though swells from Danielle will begin to affect the U.S. East Coast by the weekend and will likely cause dangerous rip currents. One Category 4 Hurricane developed in 2009, Hurricane Bill formed in mid August with winds of 135 mph at it's strongest. Bill made landfall in the Canadian province of Newfoundland as a tropical storm.

Tropical Storm Earl remains a 45 mph tropical storm positioned in the central Atlantic. Models are indicating that Earl will continue on a westerly track for the next few days but will begin to make a northerly turn as the system approaches the Lesser Antilles. Earl may intensify into a hurricane over the weekend.

And a strong tropical wave in the far eastern Atlantic may develop into our next tropical depression within the next few days. The next complete advisory from the National Hurricane Center will be issued at 11am and I'll have the latest on WINK News Now at 11am on 6TV.

Have a good day,
Lauren