HAVANA, (PNA/Xinhua) — Tropical storm Humberto reached hurricane strength early Wednesday, with maximum sustained wind speed at 120 kilometers per hour (kph), the Cuban Meteorology Institute (Insmet) said.
According to Insmet Forecast Center, at 6 a.m. local time (1000 GMT), the center of the hurricane was located 515 km west- northwest of Cape Verde’s southern islands in the Atlantic, and was moving north-northwest at 13 kph.
Cuban meteorologists forecast that in the next 24 to 48 hours, Humberto will gradually turn north, increasing its traveling speed and possibly intensity, though it could lose steam on Thursday.
Humberto is the eighth tropical storm in the 2013 hurricane season in the northern Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
Forecasts expect the current hurricane season, which ends on Nov. 30, to be very active, covering 13 to 20 storm systems, with seven to 11 reaching hurricane strength.