Hurricane Humberto is rapidly moving toward the British island territory Bermuda. The powerful storm, which is currently whipping out winds of 115mph, is expected to bring hurricane-force-winds to the island on Wednesday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued a hurricane warning as Humberto developed into a major Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir Simpson wind scale.
NASA’s Terra Satellite has now provided a terrifying view of the massive hurricane.
The image show Humberto off the coast of the Carolinas and slowly moving north.
Of the image, taking on September 16, NASA said: “On September 16, the Moderate Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument that flies aboard NASA’s Terra satellite provided a visible image of Hurricane Humberto.
“The storm appears large in the imagery as it stretches from Florida to North Carolina, and has a tail extending to the northeast for hundreds of miles into the western Atlantic Ocean north of Bermuda.
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“In the image, powerful thunderstorms circled the eye, which was also visible.”
In NOAA’s latest forecast advisory, Humberto was located 330 miles west of Bermuda.
The storm’s present movement is east-northeast and moving at 12mph.
A gradual increase in forward speed is expected through early Thursday, followed by a northeastward to north-northeastward motion through Friday.
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The agency said some “fluctuations in intensity are likely during the next day or so”, but Humberto should remain a powerful hurricane through early Thursday.
Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles from the centre and these gusts are expected to reach Bermuda by Wednesday night.
Humberto may also bring periods of heavy rainfall to the British island territory, with rainfall accumulations of two to four inches.
Storm surge and breaking waves could raise water levels by one to three feet above normal tide levels along the immediate southern coast of Bermuda.
In addition, large swells will increase along Bermuda’s coast by Wednesday.
NOAA warned: “Dangerous breaking waves, especially along south-facing beaches, will be possible Wednesday night into Thursday, and could cause coastal flooding.”
Swells are continuing to affect the northwestern Bahamas and the southeastern coast of the US and east-central Florida to North Carolina during the next couple of days.
These swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.