Irma has strengthened over the eastern Atlantic to become the fourth hurricane of the 2017 Atlantic hurricane season, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory on Thursday.
Irma is forecast to become a major hurricane by Thursday night and is expected to be an extremely dangerous hurricane for the next several days, it said.
Irma is located about 1,845 miles east of the Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds of 100 mph, the Miami-based weather forecaster said.
“Irma is forecast to become a major hurricane by tonight and is expected to be an extremely dangerous hurricane for the next several days,” the NHC said, while adding that there are no risks of hazards affecting land from the storm.
–CNBC.com contributed to this report.