Humberto formed in the Atlantic Ocean on track to become a major hurricane, while forecasters monitored a nearby tropical disturbance that could bring dangerous weather to the southeastern U.S.
Hurricane Humberto formed Friday in the Atlantic Ocean on track to become a major hurricane, while forecasters monitored a nearby tropical disturbance that could bring dangerous weather to the southeastern United States in the coming days.
Humberto, with maximum sustained winds of about 90 mph (150 kph), was rapidly strengthening over the central Atlantic midday Friday, the Miami-based U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The storm was about 450 miles (725 kilometers) northeast of the northern Leeward Islands and moving slowly toward the northwest.
Over the weekend, swells likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip currents will begin affecting portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Bermuda.
To the west of Humberto, forecasters expect a tropical disturbance currently near Hispaniola and eastern Cuba to become a tropical depression near the Bahamas over the weekend. The disturbance is described as a disorganized cluster of showers and thunderstorms.
The tropical disturbance has already brought heavy rains in the Dominican Republic on Friday, leading authorities to evacuate hundreds of people and declare a red alert in five provinces.
Flooding of rivers, streams, and ravines left dozens of communities cut off by landslides and fallen bridges, including one that collapsed while a truck was crossing, killing the driver in the community of Yamasá.
