Hurricane Igor's rapid intensification burst brought the powerful storm's winds to 150 mph, just shy of the 156 mph threshold for Category 5 status. Igor is the strongest hurricane in the Atlantic in 3 years. The last Hurricane stronger that Igor was Category 5 Hurricane Felix of 2007. Forecasters believe that Igor could reach Category 5 status today, but is probably close to its peak strength. Hurricane Igor is currently located 880 miles E of the Leeward Islands and is moving W at 10mph. A turn to the W/NW is expected tonight or tomorrow. As noted above, winds are at 150mph, with gusts to 185mph. Igor is expected to remain as powerful Hurricane for the next several days before a slow weakening trend begins. The storm is expected that it will be approaching Bermuda this coming Saturday as a Category 3 Hurricane. Forecasters are unsure if the strom will approach the US East Coast. Meanwhile, further out in the Atlantic Ocean, is Tropical Storm Julia. Julia was upgraded from Tropical Depression 12 late yesterday. TS Julia is currently located about 115 W of the Cape Verde Islands and is moving W at 13mph. The storm is forecast to take a turn to the NW, with a slight decrease in forward speed, tomorrow. Winds are at 40mph. with gusts to 50mph. Julia is forecast to become a Hurricane later this week. Although it is too soon to tell, forecasters believe that TS Julia may also threaten Bermuda early next week.
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