Tropical Storm Victor formed in the eastern tropical Atlantic Wednesday and was expected to become the season's next hurricane, while powerful Hurricane Sam remained out to sea but was likely to bring life-threatening surf and rip currents along the East Coast this weekend.
Victor formed with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph about 540 miles south of the Cabo Verde Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
The storm was moving west-northwest at 13 mph but was expected to turn toward the northwest as it likely became a huricane over the next couple days, according to the NHC.
The initial forecast cone showed Victor staying well to the east of the U.S.
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Meanwhile, Hurricane Sam had maximum sustained winds of 130 mph as it moved northwest at 9 mph about 385 miles east-northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands.
Forecasters said large swells are affecting the Leeward Islands and will spread to portions of the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Bahamas, and Bermuda by Thursday or Friday as the storm curves northward. Rough surf is expected along U.S. east coast beaches and Canada's Atlantic provinces by the weekend.
“Right now we're not forecasting it to make landfall over any coastal locations, but it's certainly a big hazard for ships at sea, and again those swells are impacting a large area of the western Atlantic,” National Hurricane Center senior specialist Richard Pasch said.
