- Sam on Friday morning became the season's seventh hurricane and 18th named storm.
- It strengthened over open Atlantic waters and was forecast to become a major hurricane.
- Forecasters say it's still too early to tell how it will impact land, but urge residents along the US East Coast to monitor the system.
Sam strengthened into a major hurricane Saturday and and will likely continue to strengthen through the weekend, the National Hurricane Center said.
Sam was located about 2,300 miles southeast of Miami as of 11 a.m. EDT Saturday. The "small but dangerous" storm was moving west at 10 mph, the hurricane center said.
The system intensified quickly, going from a tropical depression to a hurricane in less than 24 hours, and it is continuing to strengthen. The storm's maximum sustained winds are at 125 mph.
"Sam is expected to continue to rapidly strengthen into a Category 4 monster hurricane with sustained winds of 130 to 156 mph this weekend," AccuWeather forecasters said. A major hurricane is classified as one with winds of at least 111 mph.
AccuWeather forecasters say the system could turn toward the U.S. in the early days of October.
Sam is the 18th named storm of the Atlantic season and the seventh hurricane. Only one other hurricane season — 2020 — on record has had 18 named storms by Sept. 23, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
So far this year there have been three other major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger): Grace, Ida and Larry.
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Elsewhere in the tropics, the Hurricane Center is tracking three systems in the Atlantic, including a new one east of the Carolinas..
The remaining names on the list for the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season are Teresa, Victor and Wanda.
If those names are used, there is a supplemental list approved by the World Meteorological Organization which replaced the Greek alphabet used during last year's record-breaking season.
The supplemental list includes Adria, Braylen, Caridad, Deshawn, Emery, Foster, Gemma and Heath.
Track Hurricane Sam
Contributing: Susan Miller and Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
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