Tropical Storm Danny has strengthened into the first hurricane of 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Florida announced Thursday morning.
Hurricane Danny, as it is now known, is currently located hundreds of miles east of the Barbados and north of Brazil, with a track headed west-northwest at 12 miles per hour. It's expected to make landfall over Grenada, Saint Lucia, Dominica and Montserrat late Sunday night.
It will likely pass over Puerto Rico by Tuesday.
Currently there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect, the center said, adding that maximum sustained winds had increased to near 75 miles per hour, with some additional strengthening expected over the next 48 hours.
Visible satellite loop revealed the organization of the 1st #Atlantic #Hurricane #Danny (75 mph winds) this morning pic.twitter.com/nF7arjleS3— Johnny Kelly (@stormchaser4850) August 20, 2015
The storm, though, has a long and tough road ahead and is not yet a direct threat to any area of land. "It's a weird small storm," Mashable Science Editor Andrew Freedman said. "It looks like an atmospheric jellyfish."
Atlantic hurricane activity is running below average so far this season and is expected to continue that way, because of a strong El Niño event in the Pacific. El Niño increases atmospheric wind shear over the Atlantic, which can tear tropical storms and hurricanes apart.
#HurricaneDanny Keeping an eye on you from @space_station. Looks like you're 1st in Atlantic. Stay safe! #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/8U0ZsEZ482— Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) August 20, 2015