Hurricane Danielle and Tropical Storm Earl both strengthened as they moved west across the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday. Danielle is expected to become a major hurricane as it heads towards the island of Bermuda. It has developed a well-defined eye and had maximum sustained winds near 175 kilometers per hour (kph). The storm is several hundred kilometers away from Bermuda but still headed that direction. Farther east, Earl, the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, continued to gain strength, with maximum sustained winds increasing to 72 kph as it takes a more southerly track than Danielle. Earl's center was located about 2,600 kilometers east of the northern Caribbean islands, tropical storm-force winds extended outward up to 140 kilometers from its center, and the storm was moving to the west at 29 kph. Forecasters said it was too early to know whether Earl will threaten southern Florida, and some models have the storm turning north next week. In addition to Earl and Hurricane Danielle, meteorologists are watching a vigorous tropical disturbance off the west coast of Africa. Storms forming the Atlantic usually peak from August through October, while storms forming off the Cape Verde islands peak from August through September. Meanwhile, in the Pacific Ocean off Mexico's west coast, Hurricane Frank is strengthening, with maximum sustained winds of 150 kph. It is expected to weaken over the weekend as it moves over cooler water.
