Tropical Storm Helene gained strength and became a hurricane again on Saturday as it raced across the Atlantic Ocean far from the U.S. coast on a track that could eventually take its remnants toward Ireland, forecasters said, according to Reuters. At 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), Helene was centered about 1,055 miles (1700 km) west of the Portuguese Azores islands in the central Atlantic, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. It was heading east-northeast near 22 mph (35 kph), and was expected to stay on that track during the next 24 hours. Its top sustained winds were near 90 mph (150 kph), but Helene was expected to gradually weaken as it became an extratropical cyclone -- essentially a low-pressure system with strong winds -- which could happen at any time as it passed north of the Azores over the next two days, forecasters said. Helene had become the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season's fourth hurricane on Sept. 16, but weakened to tropical storm strength on Friday.
