The second hurricane of the 2022 season, Earl, formed in the Atlantic on Tuesday evening and will become a major hurricane by Friday, the National Hurricane Center said.
As of 8 p.m. ET, Hurricane Earl’s maximum winds were 80 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane, and it’s about 550 miles south of Bermuda, where a tropical storm warning is in place.
Earl isn’t a threat to the U.S. and could graze Bermuda, possibly causing damage.
Earl is heading north at 6 mph and is expected to continue in that direction into Wednesday, turning north-northeast on Thursday. It’s expected to pass to the southeast of Bermuda by Friday morning.
“There will be some impacts on the islands of Bermuda in the form of building seas, rough surf, gusty winds and some rain from Earl, but the potentially destructive winds and torrential rain are likely to pass to the east,” AccuWeather meteorologist Bernie Rayno said.
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The National Hurricane Center said Earl is expected to be a major hurricane by Friday, which means its maximum winds will get up to at least 111 mph. It’s forecasted to be the first major hurricane of the season.
Hurricane Danielle, which was the first hurricane of the 2022 season, has meanwhile been losing strength as it moves across open ocean. As of Tuesday at 5 p.m. it was located about 765 miles west-northwest of the Azores, a group of islands off Portugal, with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph.
Earl’s strengthening to a hurricane makes this the first time multiple hurricanes have been active in the Atlantic basin at the same time since 2020, according to AccuWeather.
This season got off to a slow start; it was the first time a hurricane didn’t form by August in 25 years. The first hurricane of an Atlantic season typically develops by Aug. 11, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Danielle formed Sept. 2.