Hurricane Sam nears ‘major’ status

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Sept. 24 (UPI) — Hurricane Sam neared “major” classification Saturday morning as it moved through the open Atlantic Ocean en route to the Caribbean, forecasters said.

In its 5 a.m. EDT update, the National Hurricane Center said the storm was located about 1,150 miles east-southeast of the Northern Leeward Islands. It had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph and was moving west-northwest at 13 mph.

The NHC said that Sam is expected to rapidly intensify, becoming a major hurricane later Saturday.

A storm becomes a major hurricane once it reaches Category 3, which has wind speeds of between 111 mph and 129 mph. Sam was a Category 2 storm as of Saturday morning.

Sam is on a track that could impact the southeastern United States late next week or the week after.

“A slower motion to the west-northwest is expected over the weekend, followed by a turn to the northwest on Monday,” the NHC said.

Sam is the 18th named storm and the seventh hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.

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