Hurricane Earl draws closer to Bermuda

Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Hurricane Earl drew nearer to Bermuda Thursday night as forecasters expect it will become a major hurricane.

Earl formed in the Caribbean last weekend to become the fifth named storm of the 2022 Atlantic hurricane season, following Alex, Bonnie, Colin and Danielle.

The National Hurricane Center said in its 11 p.m. EDT update Thursday that the storm was located 95 miles southeast of Bermuda. It had maximum sustained winds of 90 mph and was moving north-northeast at 15 mph.

A storm becomes a hurricane when sustained winds reach 74 mph. It becomes a major hurricane at Category 3 -- when winds exceed 111 mph -- or higher.

"Re-strengthening is still possible, and Earl could become a major hurricane by tomorrow," the NHC said. "Thereafter, some weakening and a transition into a powerful extratropical cyclone is forecast on Saturday."

The storm is not projected to make landfall anywhere in the United States. After passing Bermuda, it is expected to keep heading to the northeast, away from the U.S. East Coast.

As of Thursday night, a Tropical storm warning was in effect for Bermuda.

Hurricane-force winds extend up to 60 miles from the center of the storm and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 185 miles.

Hurricanes Danielle and Earl came after a highly unusual August, during which there were zero named tropical systems. It was the first time in 25 years that August came and went without a named storm in the Atlantic basin.

Accuweather meteorologists expect there will still be 16 named storms before the hurricane season ends on Nov. 30. They project that between six and eight will become hurricanes.

"Our thinking has not changed as far as 2022 still being an active season," AccuWeather hurricane Expert Dan Kottlowski said last month. "Our biggest concern is for a high chance for high-impact hurricanes."