Humberto Becomes First Hurricane of 2013 Over Far Eastern Atlantic

Humberto has maximum sustained winds of 85 mph but with no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Humberto became the first hurricane of the 2013 season as it continued to travel over the far eastern Atlantic Wednesday morning, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Humberto was a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph as of 11 p.m. Wednesday. It was moving north at 13 mph about 395 miles northwest of the Cape Verde Islands.

There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Humberto is expected to weaken during the next 48 hours, according to the NHC. The hurricane is expected to turn toward the west-northwest by Friday at about the same speed.

Humberto, which became a tropical storm Monday, fell just short of breaking the previous record for the latest-forming hurricane in a season. The record is still held by Gustav, which became a hurricane at 8 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2002.

Meanwhile, what was Tropical Storm Gabrielle weakened to a tropical depression Wednesday night as it moved away from Bermuda, according to the NHC.

As of 11 p.m., Gabrielle had maximum sustained winds of 35 mph and it was located about  135 miles west-northwest of Bermuda and 600 miles south-southeast of Nantucket, Mass. There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

Gabrielle is expected to increase its speed as it turns toward the north-northwest on Thursday, and it could strengthen slightly Thursday night and Friday, the National Hurricane Center said.

It will remain well offshore of the U.S. East Coast and is forecast to become a post-tropical cyclone when it nears Nova Scotia late Friday.

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