Storm Dean becomes first Atlantic hurricane of 2007

Washington, Aug 16: Tropical Storm Dean strengthened into the 2007 Atlantic storm season's first hurricane today as it revved up over warm waters and raced toward Caribbean islands, the US National Hurricane Center said.

The hurricane, with top sustained winds of (120 km per hour) by 5:00 a m 1430 hrs IST, was expected to strengthen further over coming days and could pass to the south of Jamaica on Monday as a Category 4 hurricane with 131 mph (210 kph) winds.

REUTERS >