ORLANDO, Fla. _ Hurricane Lorenzo remains a sweepingly large hurricane heading north over the Azores, according to the National Hurricane Center's 5 a.m. update Monday.
Lorenzo is the second largest hurricane of the 2019 Atlantic season behind Category 5 Hurricane Dorian, and is the largest hurricane ever recorded in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for Flores, Corvo, Faial, Pico, Sao Jorge, Graciosa and Terceira, the NHC said. A Tropical Storm watch is in effect for Sao Miguel and Santa Maria; although the NHC expects to place a Hurricane Watch for these areas later Monday morning.
Lorenzo is a Category 2 storm with winds blowing at a maximum sustained 105 mph, which is a drop from its Category 5 status Saturday when it was producing maximum sustained winds of 160 mph, the NHC said.
The storm developed into a major hurricane quickly last Thursday with winds up 130 mph.
Lorenzo is about 1,125 miles away from the Azores, but the storm is wide and powerful enough to be churning up dangerous swells felt across the Atlantic.
The NHC said Friday that swells from Lorenzo made their way to the coasts of South America and Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean over the weekend and expected to hit Bermuda, the Bahamas the U.S. as well as the Azores this week.
Lorenzo's far reaching hurricane-force winds can be detected 90 miles away from the center of Lorenzo and its tropical-storm-force winds extend up to 255 miles.
The storm is moving at at a pace of 13 mph northeast and is expected to arrive at Azores Wednesday morning, as of the 5 a.m. NHC update.
Meteorologists expect Lorenzo to gain speed before showing more signs of losing steam over the next two days.
"The models generally agree that Lorenzo should pick up forward speed and move northeastward during the next day or two as a trough amplifies over the central Atlantic," said NHC senior hurricane specialist John Cangialosi. "The bulk of the guidance shows the hurricane maintaining its intensity or weakening slightly during the next day or two while it remains over relatively warm waters and in moderate wind shear conditions."
Forecasters project Lorenzo losing strength and its Category 2 status over the next 48 hours, but retaining its powerful hurricane status as it heads over Azores.
About two to 4 inches of rain is expected over Azores Tuesday and Wednesday with life-threatening flash flood possibilities.
