After being designated a Tropical Storm late Thursday, Fabian achieved Hurricane status Friday afternoon, becoming the third storm to reach that designation this season. As of 5 p.m. EDT Friday, the storm was swirling westward through the Atlantic 1,075 miles east of the lesser Antilles, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

The Miami-based forecasting service said Hurricane Fabian had decreased in forward speed to 16 mph in a westerly direction, which the service expects to continue with a gradual decrease in forward speed. Maximum sustained winds hit 75 mph, with higher gusts. The NHC advisory noted that Fabian is likely to strengthen through Saturday.

The NHC said hurricane force winds can be expected up to 15 miles away from the center of the storm, with tropical storm force winds radiating for 85 miles.

On Thursday, New York City-based Weather 2000 predicted that if Fabian — which was only known as Tropical Depression #10 at the time — reached storm level and eventually approaches the United States, there is a 40% chance of a Gulf of Mexico entry and a 60% chance of an Atlantic Seaboard encounter.

On Friday, the company revised its prediction, stating that if Fabian was to eventually approach the U.S., there is now only a 20% chance of Gulf of Mexico entry and an 80% chance of an Atlantic Seaboard encounter.

Weather 2000 said Fabian has “good upper air outflow, decent symmetry, and robust convection.” As the storm swings around the climatological Azores/Bermuda High, the company looks for Fabian to gradually develop a larger northerly component to it’s current (almost) West motion.

“On this journey, Fabian should move in a rather linear path, passing to the North of the Windward Islands,” the company said.

Weather 2000 also noted that Tropical Depression #11 (or potentially Grace) might join the party sometime early this week. “Nothing in close proximity to North America piques our interest, however, so time is on our side with regards to monitoring, tracking and preparing for these storms,” the company said Thursday.

State College, PA-based AccuWeather Inc. agreed that the Southeast and South Central areas of the United States probably are in for an active September as far as tropical storm/hurricane activity is concerned.

AccuWeather’s meteorologists urged residents along the coast of the Southeastern United States to be on alert for one or more hurricanes or tropical storms in September. The company said it is confident that in September, high pressure systems over the southwestern Atlantic will be far enough offshore to allow tropical cyclones to make landfall on the Atlantic coast.

Regarding normal storm activity, Weather 2000 warned that it is likely that there will be much more severe weather in the weeks and months ahead. The company highlighted the Mississippi/Ohio Valley regions all the way to the Atlantic Seaboard and called for sporadic monsoonal precipitation from dissipating Tropical Depression Ignacio across the Southwest and Southern California.

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