Hurricane Earl swirls in Atlantic, may cause dangerous surf conditions on East Coast

(Gray News) - After a tropical dry spell, the Atlantic basin is roaring to life.

Hurricane Earl is about 900 miles from the U.S. East Coast with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, the National Hurricane Center reported.

Swells generated by Earl are expected to reach Bermuda by Wednesday night, the East Coast shortly thereafter and are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions through the weekend.

The storm is moving slowly north at 6 mph.

Forecasters said the storm will stay well away from the U.S. mainland as a trough over the eastern U.S. is expected to move offshore during the next couple of days, causing Earl to turn northeastward and accelerate.

A tropical storm warning is in effect for Bermuda.

Earl is expected to become a major hurricane late Thursday or Thursday night.

Further out into the Atlantic is Hurricane Danielle, about 690 miles away from the Azores and moving to the northeast with 80 mph winds.

There are no watches or warnings associated with Danielle, and it is expected to become a post-tropical low in a day or so.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic, an area of low pressure several hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands has a 60% chance of formation in the next few days.

The Atlantic hurricane season has been unusually quiet until the formation of Danielle.

It is the first time since 1941 that the Atlantic has gone from July 3 to the end of August with no named storm, Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach had told The Associated Press.