MIAMI – Hurricane Larry reached Category 2 strength on Friday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds hitting 100 mph.
Forecasters say Larry will likely further intensify into a major hurricane this weekend and possibly reach Category 4 status with 140 mph winds.
At 5 p.m. Friday, Larry was 1,320 miles east of the Leeward Islands. It was heading west-northwest at 16 mph.
As of now, there are no watches, warnings or direct threats to land — but dangerous swells are likely.
“Swells generated by Larry are expected to reach the Lesser Antilles on Sunday,” the National Hurricane Center said. “Significant swells will likely reach Bermuda and the eastern United States coastline after Labor Day. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.”
Models don’t show Larry affecting Florida as long as the hurricane eventually makes a turn to the north as projected.
“Hurricane Larry is slowly organizing and growing larger. It is expected to be a large powerful hurricane when it heads in the general direction of Bermuda next week. It’s too early to know if it will directly affect the island. Atlantic Canada will also have to watch its progress,” Local 10 Hurricane Specialist Bryan Norcross said. “It should stay away from the U.S. except for producing large, dangerous swells along the East Coast beaches.”
Larry is the fifth hurricane and 12th named storm of the Atlantic season, which runs through the end of November.
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