Riviera Maya, Q.R. — After a relatively quiet summer, storm development in the Atlantic has picked up. Earlier this week, tropical storm Danielle was upgraded to a hurricane, making it the first of the 2022 Atlantic season.
On Tuesday, a second tropical storm also gained hurricane recognition. Hurricane Earl, which continues to head north toward Bermuda, was expected to reach major hurricane status by late Thursday.
However, the National Hurricane Center has since update Earl’s status, which reached Category 2 at 5:00 a.m. Thursday. At that time, Earl was situated 460 kilometers (miles) south of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 165 km/h.
Earl is moving north at 15 km/h (9 mph). An increase in forward speed is expected Thursday as it passes the southeast of Bermuda Thursday night. The island has been under a storm watch since Wednesday.
