Hurricane Humberto remained a major hurricane early Monday in the Atlantic. Photo courtesy of the NOAA
Humberto weakened slightly overnight, but remains a powerful Category 4 storm early Monday and a threat to the East Coast and Bermuda, the National Hurricane Center said.
Humberto had maximum sustained winds of 140 mph, the National Hurricane Center said in its 2 a.m. AST update.
It was located about 400 miles south-southwest of Bermuda and was moving northwest at 14 mph, according to the forecasters.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the center of the storm, and tropical-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles.
A tropical storm watch was in effect for Bermuda, where the NHC was warning that while Humberto is expected to miss the island, its residents could begin to feel the effects of tropical-storm-force winds starting late Tuesday.
“On the forecast track, the center of Humberto will pass well west, and then north, of Bermuda on Tuesday and Wednesday,” the NHC said.
The storm is expected to experience fluctuations in intensity over the next day or so, but gradual weakening is forecast after that. It is, however, to remain a “dangerous major hurricane” over the next few days, according to the forecasters.
Swells generated by Humberto will continue affecting portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Bermuda through much of this week, and likely produce life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Dangerous surf conditions are expected to begin affecting much of the U.S. East Coast on Monday.
Humberto is the eighth named storm of the Atlantic season and became the season’s third hurricane on Friday morning.
On Sunday, it was joined in the Atlantic by Tropical Storm Imelda.
