(Reuters) – Churning in the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Paulette is expected to become a hurricane on Saturday night as it approaches Bermuda, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).
Paulette is located about 460 miles (740 km) southeast of Bermuda but closing in at a speed of 15 miles per hour (24 km/h), the Miami-based center said in an advisory.
The storm is forecast to make landfall on the self-governing British territory either Sunday night or Monday morning, bringing with it what the NHC described as “a prolonged period of strong winds, storm surge and heavy rainfall.”
On Saturday, Paulette’s winds had extended outward by up to 195 miles (314 km) from its center, with maximum sustained winds of 70 miles per hour (113 kph).
A category one hurricane has a minimum sustained wind speed of 74 miles per hour on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
(Reporting by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
