Joaquin's winds "have increased to near 75 mph (120 km/h) with higher gusts," according to Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance aircraft measurements.
Hurricane Joaquin is intensifying slowly, as the wind shear drops. The storm's 55-mile-wide eye remains open on the north side.
The cyclone is currently listed as a Category 1 storm, and hurricane warnings and watches are in effect for much of the Bahamas. The storm is expected to arrive near the central part of the coral-based archipelago Wednesday night and Thursday.
#Joaquin becomes a hurricane over night. Find the most recent warnings and forecast here http://t.co/PivIdwqWtk pic.twitter.com/pKtVkZsJcv
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) September 30, 2015
The storm will move southwest through Wednesday night before turning north towards the US. One model, the American GFS, predicted an "alarming northwestward turn," the Weather Channel said, with the storm slamming into Virginia and Maryland over the weekend.
Air Force recon collecting data on #Joaquin as we speak. GPS drops show avg. wind in lowest 500m ~85 mph, E of center pic.twitter.com/vs45gImiLG
— Greg Postel (@GregPostel) September 30, 2015
It may turn into a Category 3 hurricane ‒ a "major hurricane" with sustained wind speeds between 111 and 129 mph (178-208 km/hr).
The most recent visible imagery of Hurricane #Joaquin from the GOES-13 satellite (GOES-East) http://t.co/f9Jma9ofmf pic.twitter.com/G9qSYsVTDB
— NOAA Satellites (@NOAASatellites) September 30, 2015
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