Tropical Storm Katia May Become Category 3 Hurricane in 4 Days

Tropical storm Katia may become Category 3 hurricane in 5 days

The National Hurricane Center, in its latest advisory on Wednesday morning, says Tropical Storm Katia is gradually gaining strength as it moves quickly west-northwestward.

Yesterday morning Katia was estimated to have maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour and was moving west-northwestward at 21 mph.

The threat of Katia comes on the heels of Irene, which battered the U.S. over the weekend. Katia was initially spotted in the eastern Atlantic at 535 miles west-southwest of the southernmost Cape Verde islands.

According to a National Hurricane Center forecast, Katia may become a hurricane within 36 to 48 hours while moving over warm water. The NHC added the tropical storm may reach major Category 3 intensity within five days. Katia is the 11th named storm of 2011 in the Atlantic hurricane season, which ends Nov. 30.