PHILIPSBURG--Hurricane Danny weakened to a Category 2 hurricane as of 11:00pm Friday. The storm is expected to continue weakening during the next few days, said the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) in its 11:00pm bulletin.
As Danny moves toward the local area, no coastal watches or warnings are yet in effect. Interests in the Leeward Islands and the Virgin Islands should monitor Danny's progress, said NHC, because tropical storm watches may be required for portions of the Leeward Islands and the Virgin Islands today, Saturday.
The centre of Hurricane Danny, at the time of the bulletin, was located near latitude 14.8 North, longitude 49.8 West, moving West-Northwest near 10mph (17km/h). An increase in forward speed is expected during the next couple of days, with a turn toward the West forecast tonight.
Maximum sustained winds had decreased to near 110mph (175km/h) with higher gusts. Additional weakening is forecast during the next 48 hours and Danny is expected to become a tropical storm on Sunday as it approaches the Leeward Islands.
Data from a NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft indicated at 2:00pm Friday that Danny remained "a very small tropical cyclone." Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 15 miles (30 km) from the centre and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km).
The estimated minimum central pressure is 977mb (28.85 inches).
The next bulletin on the first hurricane of the 2015 Atlantic Hurricane Season was at 5:00am today and is available at
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/#DANNY .
