Sam strengthened into a hurricane over open Atlantic waters early Friday morning and will likely become a major storm on Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said.
Sam was located about 2,490 miles southeast of Miami as of 5 p.m. EDT Friday. The storm was moving west at 12 mph.
The system intensified quickly, going from a tropical depression to a hurricane in less than 24 hours, and it is continuing to strengthen. The storm’s maximum sustained winds are at 85 mph.
“Sam could approach the northern Leeward Islands by Tuesday of next week as a major hurricane,” AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Rob Miller said. A major hurricane is classified as one with winds of at least 111 mph.
AccuWeather forecasters say there is a range of possibilities as to where Sam may go. They are urging residents from Bermuda to the Bahamas, the East Coast of the U.S. and Atlantic Canada to monitor the system for potential impact.
Sam is the 18th named storm of the Atlantic season and the seventh hurricane. Only one other hurricane season — 2020 — on record has had 18 named storms by Sept. 23, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
So far this year there have been three major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger): Grace, Ida and Larry.
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Elsewhere in the tropics, the Hurricane Center is tracking three systems in the Atlantic, including a new one east of the Carolinas..
The remaining names on the list for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season are Teresa, Victor and Wanda.
If those names are used, there is a supplemental list approved by the World Meteorological Organization which replaced the Greek alphabet used during last year’s record-breaking season.
The supplemental list includes Adria, Braylen, Caridad, Deshawn, Emery, Foster, Gemma and Heath.
Track Hurricane Sam
Contributing: Susan Miller, USA TODAY
