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Hurricane Larry forecast to become a Cat. 4 storm this weekend
Hurricane Larry, currently way off in the Atlantic, is expected to become a major hurricane this weekend.
The 5 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center shows Larry as a Cat. 1 storm moving west-northwest at 20 mph with wind speeds at 90 mph. Larry is forecast to become a major Cat. 3 hurricane by 2 a.m. on Saturday and could reach Cat. 4 strength by Sunday, according to WRAL meteorologist Zach Maloch.
Larry could impact portions of Bermuda by mid-week next week before it steers to the northeast, Maloch said.
A ridge of high pressure will help keep Larry offshore, but North Carolina’s coast could experience some rip currents or large ocean swells by next Friday, Maloch said. Still, Larry is not likely to reach land.
“All in all, Larry will stay east of the United States,” Maloch said.
Hurricane Larry is the fifth hurricane of the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.