Hurricane Danielle Now a Category 3 Storm

Hurricane Danielle, located at about 585 miles southeast of Bermuda, is proceeding northwest at 12 mph.

This visible image from NASA's GOES-13 satellite shows Hurricane Danielle (left) approaching Bermuda and Tropical Storm Earl (right) trailing to its east. Danielle is a well-developed hurricane, while the circulation in Earl appears a lot less developed NASA

Hurricane Danielle, with its maximum sustained winds at nearly 120 mph, is now a major hurricane, according to a special National Hurricane Center advisory issued at 2 a.m. EDT Friday.

Hurricane Danielle, which is currently located at about 585 miles southeast of Bermuda, is proceeding northwest at 12 mph with higher gusts than before. The hurricane is expected to turn northward in the next few days.

On this track, the center of Danielle will remain well east of Bermuda at about 230 miles, but the islands will still have large and dangerous surf conditions.

Danielle is now a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, which can lead to devastating damage, according to the center.

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was a Category 5 storm, the highest on scale.

The center is forecasting additional strengthening in the next 24 to 36 hours.