Hurricane Fiona had strengthened into a major Category 3 hurricane Tuesday as it traveled just east of Turks and Caicos. By late Wednesday, Fiona is expected to be at Category 4 strength with devastating maximum sustained winds of 140 mph, forecasters said.
Fiona, the first major hurricane in the Atlantic this season and only the third Atlantic hurricane overall in 2022, was about 75 miles northof North Caicos Island and 775 miles southwest of Bermuda as of 8 p.m., moving north-northwest at 8 mph with maximum sustained wind speeds of 125 mph, 5 mph below the threshold to be considered a Category 4.
The storm is expected to move away from the Turks and Caicos on Tuesday night, pivot north-northwest and then north on Wednesday, well out into the open Atlantic Ocean.
[ RELATED: Tropical Storm Gaston forms, but it’s no threat to land ]
The storm is expected to strengthen during the next few days, according to the National Hurricane Center. Its hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 35 miles from its center and tropical-storm-force winds extended outward up to 150 miles.
Forecasters said hurricane conditions were affecting the Turks and Caicos islands Tuesday evening and that parts of the southeastern Bahamas would start to see tropical storm conditions overnight.
The hurricane could next be a threat to Bermuda late in the week, when the National Hurricane Center predicts Category 4 maximum wind speeds of 140 mph.
Tropical Storm Gaston formed in the central Atlantic as of 5 p.m. Tuesday with maximum sustained winds of 40 mph, moving north-northeast at 17 mph, the center’s latest advisory said.
At the moment, it poses no threat to land. It is likely to be torn apart by storm-shredding upper-level winds later this week.
In addition to Fiona, National Hurricane Center forecasters also are tracking a disturbance located several hundred miles east of the eastern Caribbean, and traveling at 15 to 20 mph. It has been given 70% chance of developing into a tropical depression within the next two days and a 90% chance in the next five days as of 8 p.m. Its current trajectory has it passing through the Caribbean.
Forecasters said it is likely to become a tropical depression by Thursday or Friday.
There is also a second disturbance that will move off the coast of Africa Thursday that has moderate odds of developing into a tropical depression in the next five days.
The next named storms will be Hermine and Ian.
Fiona has caused at least four deaths, according to the Associated Press:
A 58-year-old man in Puerto Rico died after police said he was swept away by a river in the central mountain town of Comerio. Another man in Puerto Rico was burned to death when he attempted to refuel a generator while it was running.
In the Dominican Republic, authorities reported one death: a man hit by a falling tree. And a man in the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe died when his home was swept away by a flood.
Storm surge near Turks and Caicos could raise water levels by as much as 3 to 5 feet above normal tide levels into Tuesday, experts said. The southeastern Bahamas should see tropical storm conditions by early Tuesday, and may experience localized coastal flooding due to strong onshore winds through today.
The beaches along the U.S. East Coast could see high surf, minor beach erosion, and minor coastal flooding as Fiona passes thru and heads north to Canada, according to AccuWeather.
The intensifying storm dropped copious rain over the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Flooding is still a major threat in the Dominican Republic, where rain totals could reach at least 20 inches on the eastern part of the island. Puerto Rico could see a maximum of 35 inches, according to experts.
[ RELATED: Stay updated with the latest forecast for tropical weather at SunSentinel.com ]
Fiona caused an island-wide blackout in Puerto Rico on Sunday, striking on the anniversary of Hurricane Hugo, which hit Puerto Rico 33 years ago as a Category 3 storm, and just two days before the anniversary of Hurricane Maria, a devastating Category 4 storm that struck on Sept. 20, 2017.
“The damages that we are seeing are catastrophic,” said Gov. Pedro Pierluisi on Monday.
The storm also caused numerous landslides and tore the roofs off homes, including that of Nelson Cirino in the northern coastal town of Loiza.
“I was sleeping and saw when the corrugated metal flew off,” he said as he watched rain drench his belongings and wind whip his colorful curtains into the air.
In the Dominican Republic, the storm displaced more than 12,400 people and cut off at least two communities. Nearly 800 people were evacuated to safer locations, and more than 500 were in shelters, officials said. The storm also triggered mudslides that damaged highways.
The eastern provinces, home to many of the country’s beach resorts, took the brunt of the storm — a potential blow to a tourism industry that is crucial to the country’s economy, but still recovering from a slowdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2020 hurricane season set a record with 30 named systems, while 2021′s season was the third-most active with 21 named systems. An average year calls for 14 named storms.
Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
