ORLANDO, Fla. _ While Hurricane Florence is forecast to hit the Carolinas as a major hurricane later this week, the National Hurricane Center is monitoring two other hurricanes _ Isaac and Helene _ and a tropical wave in the northwestern Caribbean Sea.
Florence is "rapidly strengthening into a major hurricane" Monday and will move through the southwestern Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas Tuesday and Wednesday before approaching the coast of South Carolina or North Carolina on Thursday, the hurricane center said in its 11 a.m. advisory.
Florence is located about 580 miles southeast of Bermuda and 1,240 miles east-southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina. It is packing maximum sustained winds of 115 mph and is moving to the west-northwest at 9 mph.
"An increase in forward speed is expected during the next couple of days," the hurricane center said. "A turn toward the northwest is forecast to occur Wednesday night or Thursday."
Residents in southeastern and mid-Atlantic states are encouraged to monitor the hurricane's progress.
Florence will also cause swells in Bermuda and parts of the U.S. east coast, which are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions.
Meanwhile, Isaac is about 1,150 miles east of the Windward Islands. It has maximum sustained winds of 75 mph and is moving to the west at 14 mph. Isaac is expected to move across the Lesser Antilles and into the eastern Caribbean Sea on Thursday.
"Additional strengthening is expected over the next day or two," the hurricane center said. "Weakening is forecast to begin by the middle of the week as Isaac approaches the Lesser Antilles."
As for Helene, it is about 370 miles west of the southernmost Cabo Verde Islands and has maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. It is moving to the west-northwest at 16 mph.
The hurricane center said that Helene is "strengthening quickly over the tropical Atlantic" and forecast to be a major hurricane by Monday night but "steady weakening" is expected by late Tuesday.
And finally, a tropical wave and an upper-level trough in the northwestern Caribbean Sea has a 30 percent chance of developing into at least a tropical depression in the next five days. Chances of development are expected to increase when the system moves across the western Gulf of Mexico, beginning Wednesday.
