BREAKING: Danny Officially Named First Hurricane of Season

Update: Danny was upgraded to the first hurricane of the 2015 shortly after 11 a.m. ET on Thursday as it moves toward the United States.

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As Tropical Storm Danny continues to strengthen as it slowly moves westward across the Atlantic, the National Weather Service anticipates it will become the season’s first hurricane by Friday.

“Tropical Storm Danny, currently centered about 1,325 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, has slowed its forward motion,” the weather service wrote in its 5 p.m. update. “It’s now moving westward near 10 mph, and a west-northwestward motion at a slightly slower forward speed is expected during the next 48 hours.”

The storm still had maximum sustained winds near 50 mph, forecasters say. Some strengthening is anticipated over the next two days with Danny predicated to become a hurricane by Friday.

Forecasters anticipate Danny will be just southeast of Puerto Rico by Monday if it continues on its current path.

While Tropical Storm Danny is the big news out of the Atlantic, another disturbance is also being tracked. As of 2 p.m. Wednesday, that storm was located a few hundred miles out from Bermuda. It has a 40 percent chance of forming into a tropical depression over the next five days.

While neither storm currently poses an immediate threat to the United States, forecasters say they bear careful monitoring.

In the meantime, the Tampa Bay area is looking at the potential for more storms Wednesday with a 50 percent chance forecast. Thunderstorms are also likely over the next few days, mainly in the afternoon hours.

Between the afternoon storms and the disturbances brewing in the Atlantic, residents are urged to keep a close eye on the forecast.

Check out your local Patch’s homepage for an extended forecast for your neighborhood.

Graphic courtesy of the National Hurricane Center

Editor’s note: This story was updated at 4:49 p.m. Aug. 19 with the latest information from the National Weather Service.