Tropical Storm "Humberto", which formed on Friday over the Atlantic Ocean, has strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane, potentially leading to dangerous weather conditions in the southeastern United States next week, the US National Hurricane Center reported, reported the Associated Press, quoted by BTA.
The hurricane's strength is expected to continue to grow over the weekend.
"Humberto", with maximum sustained winds of about 90 miles (150 kilometers) per hour, rapidly gained strength over the central Atlantic Ocean on Friday afternoon, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported. The storm is located about 450 miles (725 kilometers) northeast of the northern Leeward Islands and is moving slowly northwest.
Over the weekend, waves that are likely to cause dangerous rip currents and rip currents will begin to affect parts of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and Bermuda.
The storm has already brought heavy rains to the Dominican Republic, prompting authorities to evacuate hundreds of people and declare a state of emergency in five provinces. Flooding, landslides and collapsed bridges have left dozens of communities isolated.