Bertha Strengthens to Hurricane Status

Hurricane Bertha is strengthening off of Florida’s east coast Monday.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami upgraded from a tropical storm to a Category 1 hurricane Monday morning.

As of 5 p.m. Monday, the storm’s coordinates are about 29 degrees north and 74 degrees west, situated about 560 miles west-southwest of Bermuda.

Bertha has maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour, moving north at about 18 mph.

The storm is forecast to northward and northeastward, ultimately becoming extratropical and affecting Newfoundland by Thursday.

The United States is not expected to be directly affected by the storm.

Bertha becomes the second-named and second consecutive hurricane of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season.