(The Center Square) – Major hurricane status, with wind speeds greater than 110 mph, is expected by Saturday morning just north of the Dominican Republic as Tropical Storm Erin on Tuesday churned across the Atlantic Ocean toward the United States.

The National Hurricane Center, an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said it is too early to know the impacts of Erin on the northern Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Erin was described in an 11 a.m. Eastern update as “moving quickly westward” at 23 mph, at that point about 820 miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands and 1,765 miles east of the Northern Leewards.

Erin is projected to become a hurricane on Thursday, meaning wind speeds of 74-95 mph on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Overnight Friday

See Full Page