All Eyes on Hurricane Humberto and Growing Storm Near the Southeast U.S.
Hurricane Humberto made history Saturday evening when it strengthened into a powerful Category 5 storm, the highest level on the hurricane scale.
Even though Humberto will not hit land directly, it will create dangerous rip currents along the U.S. East Coast into next week, and possibly reach Atlantic Canada later in the week.
The storm’s maximum winds reached 260 km/h, placing it among only 44 Atlantic hurricanes to ever reach Category 5 strength. Twelve of those have happened in the last decade, and six since 2022. Humberto will remain a major hurricane into early next week as it moves around a large area of high pressure in the Atlantic. Bermuda is being urged to watch the storm’s path closely.
Another Storm Developing
At the same time, Tropical Depression Nine is slowly strengthening near the Bahamas. Forecasters expect it to become Tropical Storm Imelda by Sunday. The storm could approach the southeastern U.S. early next week, and tropical storm watches are already in place for parts of Florida.
The storm’s track is uncertain because of a complicated weather pattern. It may slow down near the U.S. coast as steering winds weaken. The most likely forecast shows Humberto creating a gap in the weather system, which may allow Imelda to turn out to sea by midweek.
However, if the storm stays closer to land, it could bring flooding rains to Georgia, the Carolinas, and Virginia. Officials urge residents in those areas to keep a close watch on the forecast in the coming days.
