Hurrican Jose has re-strengthened, as predicted, and could bring rain and wind -- or more-- to the northeastern United States, the National Hurricane Center said Saturday morning.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of nearly 80 mph and was 550 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, early Saturday, according to the hurricane center.
CNN said Jose is staying out in the Atlantic Ocean but moving toward the northwest. That motion will bring it closer to the United States through the weekend, CNN noted, and just how far Jose moves west before turning to the north will tell forecasters a great deal about the likelihood of whether it will make landfall somewhere along the eastern US coastline.
The National Hurricane Center's 11 a.m. Saturday update said:
"The center of Jose is forecast to pass well east of the North Carolina coast on Monday, and tropical-storm-force winds are currently expected to remain offshore of the North Carolina Outer Banks. However, an increase in the size of the storm or a westward adjustment in the track forecast could bring tropical storm conditions closer to the Outer Banks, and interests there should monitor the progress of Jose through Monday."
"While Jose is currently forecast to remain offshore of the U.S. coast from Virginia northward to New England, the large cyclone could cause some direct impacts to these areas and any deviation to the left of the NHC forecast track would increase the likelihood and magnitude of those impacts. Interests along the U.S. east coast from Virginia to New England should monitor the progress of Jose through the next several days."
"Swells generated by Jose are affecting Bermuda, the Bahamas, the northern coasts of Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, and much of the U.S. east coast. These swells are likely to cause dangerous surf and rip current conditions for the next several days in these areas."
USA Today had said the storm was likely to shift northward, edging the Mid-Atlantic as it tracked up the coast.
Fox News had said Jose was downgraded to a tropical storm late Thursday morning, but said forecasters believed it would become a Category 1 hurricane by the weekend.