Hurricane Irene has been upgraded to a Category 3 storm. The storm had been downgraded Tuesday evening but regained strength overnight and had hit Category 2 status as of the 5 a.m. hurricane update.
Within the last three hours, Hurricane Irene has gained more strength and was further upgraded. Forecasters expect the storm to continue growing in strength.
The storm is currently baring down on the Crooked and Acklins Islands.
The National Weather Service said in it 8 a.m. update that Hurricane Irene
has become quite impressive with the eye embedded within very cold cloud tops.
Hurricane Irene is moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph. A gradual turn toward the northwest is expected sometime today.
On the forecast track, the core of Irene will move across the southeastern and central Bahamas today and over the northwestern Bahamas on
Thursday.
Data from an Air Force Reserve Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicate that the maximum sustained winds have increased to near 115 mph with higher gusts.