Chris becomes first Atlantic hurricane of season


June 21, 2012 at 1:12p.m.

Chris becomes first Atlantic hurricane of season

MIAMI (AP) — Chris has become the Atlantic Ocean’s first hurricane of the season but it’s far from land.

Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami say Chris’s top sustained winds have increased to 75 mph (120 kph), and it’s moving to the northeast at 20 mph (32 kph).

This morning, its center was located about 625 miles (1,005 km) southeast of Cape Race Newfoundland.

The storm is expected to weaken over the next 48 hours.

The hurricane center says there are no hazards affecting land, and the forecast map predicts that it will stay out to sea over the next few days.