Hurricane Sam strengthened into a Category 3 storm as it moved west across the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said Saturday.
The National Hurricane Center said the storm was “small but dangerous” and was forecast to become a Category 4 hurricane by Sunday.
The hurricane was just under 1,100 miles east-southeast of the northern Leeward Islands as of 11 a.m. Eastern time Saturday, moving at 10 mph, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph, according to the center.
The swells generated by the hurricane were forecast to reach the Lesser Antilles early next week and have the potential to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, the center said.
Beyond the swells, it was “still too early to tell what impacts might occur in the United States,” Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist at the hurricane center in Miami, said Saturday.
Sam, which formed Thursday in the central Atlantic, is the fourth named storm to develop in less than a week and the 18th overall in a busy 2021 Atlantic hurricane season.
“All folks need to do right now is check the latest forecast as we get into next week,” Feltgen said. He said people should ensure they have a hurricane plan, including supplies, in place.
Also Friday, Subtropical Storm Teresa formed north of Bermuda, becoming the 19th named storm of the hurricane season. Teresa has a small window to “intensify slightly,” but it is likely to dissipate by Sunday and also is not expected to threaten land, forecasters said.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times .