Hurricanes churn over Atlantic, no threat to land

MIAMI, Sep 17 (Reuters) Hurricanes Gordon and Helene churned across the open Atlantic today, packing strong winds and gusty rains but posing no immediate threat to land, US forecasters said.

At 5 p.m. EDT (0230 hrs IST), maximum sustained winds from Helene -- the fourth hurricane of the Atlantic season -- were blowing at 169 kph and the storm was moving northwest at about 14 kph, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said.

It said the center of the storm, which could strengthen over the next 24 hours, was located 1,480 km east-northeast of the northern Leeward Islands.

Gordon, the third hurricane of the season, had top sustained winds near 130 kph, the hurricane center said. Located 2,300 km west of the Azores, it was swirling north-northeast at 22 kph.

Hurricane forecasters had predicted the current Atlantic storm season, which began June 1, would be more active than usual, following the record-breaking 2005 and the punishing 2004 seasons.

But the development of El Nino weather conditions in the Pacific and other factors like high quantities of West African dust in the atmosphere over the Atlantic have led weather experts to lower their expectations.

The El Nino phenomenon, an unusual warming of waters in the eastern Pacific, causes high wind shear over the Atlantic. Wind shear, the difference in velocity or direction of winds at different altitudes, tears cyclones apart.

REUTERS PDS BST0332