COLUMBIA, S.C. — Hurricane Epsilon gained strength and became a major hurricane Wednesday. It became the fourth major hurricane this season.
Hurricane Epsilon was located about 235 miles east-southeast of Bermuda late Thursday morning. It had winds of 90 mph with some stronger gusts.
Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 15 miles and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 310 miles from the center of circulation.
The Category 1 hurricane was moving northwest at 7 mph. Epsilon has been wobbling toward the west, but its longer-term motion is toward the northwest.
A turn toward the north-northwest is expected later today, followed by a northward motion tonight through Friday night, and an acceleration toward the northeast on Saturday.
The center of Epsilon is forecast to make its closest approach to, but well to the east of, Bermuda later this evening.
A tropical storm warning continues for Bermuda, but Epsilon will not make a direct impact to the United States.
It is the 26th named storm of the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season. The record for named storms in the Atlantic is 27, that was set in 2005.
Spaghetti Models:
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
The National Hurricane Center was also watching an area in the western Caribbean Sea.
A trough of low pressure is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms which primarily extend near Jamaica, the Cayman Islands, and Cuba.
Some slow development of this system is possible during the next few days while it moves northeastward near western or central Cuba, the Straits of Florida and the Bahamas through the weekend.
Regardless of development, locally heavy rainfall is possible over portions of Cuba, South Florida, and the Bahamas through early next week.
The NHC gives this area a 30% chance of further development over the next five days.
Hurricane season officially continues through November 30, but storms can and have formed after that date.