Henri likely to become hurricane

Tropical Storm Henri is forecast to become a hurricane with top winds of 80 mph, although the storm remains far out in the Atlantic and may never threaten land, according to a 5 p.m. Tuesday update from the National Hurricane Center.

The storm, which increased its top wind speed to 65 mph, is forecast to reach hurricane strength by Friday, with 75 mph winds, increasing to 80 mph by Saturday. The storm’s forecast track shows it making a clockwise loop around Bermuda, the only land near it. Henri would be the third hurricane of the season, assuming Hurricane Grace forms Wednesday as expected. A tropical storm watch remained in effect for Bermuda, with the storm expected to make a slow clockwise loop around the island over the next week. The fiveday forecast doesn’t show Henri approaching any other land.

The storm is one of three that have been monitored in the Atlantic this week, an indication of the arrival of the peak period of hurricane season. The National Hurricane Center says no further storms are expected to form over the next five days. The current forecast track shows the storm heading south of Bermuda late Tuesday or Tuesday night and then curling around to the north, several hundred miles off North Carolina. The track shows no immediate threat to land through Saturday, and the storm may end up dissipating in the middle of the ocean, according to the National Hurricane Center.

At 5 p.m. Tuesday, the storm was 135 miles south-southeast of Bermuda, heading west-southwest at 2 mph. Henri, which formed Monday, is the eighth named storm of a season that’s been forecast to be above average.

And most of the season’s peak period still lies ahead. The next named storm to form would be Ida.