Sam Becomes the Seventh Hurricane of the Current Season

Tropical Storm Sam became early Friday morning the seventh hurricane of the current season in the Atlantic, after gaining in organization and intensity while reaching maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour, with sustained gusts which reached Category One on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

According to an informative report issued by the Institute of Meteorology of Cuba, at 05:00 local time its center was estimated at 11.5 degrees north latitude and 42.2 degrees west longitude.

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Those coordinates allowed locating it about 2,365 kilometers to the east southeast of the northern group of the Lesser Antilles arc and approximately 1,900 kilometers to the east of Barbados, the easternmost island of this group. At that time, its central pressure had dropped to 993 hectopascal and it was moving westward at a rate of 24 kilometers per hour.

According to the report of the Cuban meteorological agency, Sam is forecast to continue gaining in intensity until it becomes a cyclone of great intensity throughout the day Saturday. In the coming hours, the tropical phenomenon will maintain a course between west and west-northwest, and will slightly decrease its speed.

This projection coincides with the assessment of the United States Hurricane Center, although this office estimates that Sam could become a major hurricane event on Friday night, according to a report issued during the early hours of Friday morning.

So far, Sam does not pose any danger to any coastal area and it is estimated that during the weekend it will incline its trajectory more towards the west northwest, and could even become a Category Four hurricane.

Due to this, the Barbados Meteorological Service (BMS) informed on Friday that it will continue to monitor its movement and asked the population to remain alert.

The current Atlantic hurricane season has been catalogued as one of the most active, since Sam was the 18th hurricane to form.