Hurricane Sam Peaks in Intensity, Mainland Likely to Be Spared Landfall

A satellite view of Hurricane Sam over the Atlantic Ocean on Sept. 27, 2021. (NOAA)

As Hurricane Sam continues to sweeps across the northwest Atlantic, AccuWeather is forecasting that the major hurricane is likely to spare the U.S. mainland landfall.

In its 11 p.m. update, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that Hurricane Sam had “peaked in intensity” while moving northwest at 7 mph on Sept. 26.

The weather agency said the system was located around 850 miles east-south-east of the Northern Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea.

Data collected by NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter reconnaissance aircraft reported maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, it added.

“This motion is expected to continue for the next few days, along with a gradual increase in forward speed beginning around midweek,” the NHC advisory stated.

The “small but ferocious” Sam is now a category 4 major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Any storm above category 3 is classified as a major hurricane.

Sam is projected to fluctuate in intensity during the next day or so, but remain as a major hurricane before a “slow weakening,” the NHC said.

It is likely Sam could generate high surf and rip currents in the Caribbean early this week as it continues to track northwest.

Apart from Hurricane Sam, there are three other storms currently active in the Atlantic.