The hurricane is now moving west-northwestward at 12 miles per hour, which the center’s forecasters expect to continue “for the next couple of days”, the bulletin states.
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Danny, a Category 1 storm, could weaken back into a tropical storm before reaching Puerto Rico on Tuesday, according to the Miami-based hurricane center’s five-day outlook. No hurricane watches or warnings have been issued and Hurricane Danny is not expected to threaten land until early next week, according to The Baltimore Sunday.
Local media said lightning also struck a tank used to store oil in Crystal Beach, forcing a temporary shutdown of the Intracoastal Waterway because black smoke. Forecasters at the hurricane center noticed that the storm appeared to be more organized, with a better-defined central eye.
“Danny should serve as a reminder that we are now in the heart of hurricane season”, GOHSEP Director Kevin Davis said in a press release.
If Danny becomes a hurricane, it would be the first as the season swings into peak months. While too early to determined possible impacts, areas around the Lesser Antilles, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico are advised to monitor the system. Danny is a compact storm, and its small size likely allowed it to “spin up” relatively quickly this morning.
They said this may be due to the strong El Nino weather pattern that is unfolding this year.
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The agency added that forecasters think there is a 60 percent chance of the disturbance organising into a tropical storm within the next five days. It is expected to intensify slightly for the day or so, with winds peaking at about 85 miles per hour, before conditions begin to take some of the steam out of the storm.
