NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hurricane Danielle, which strengthened early Tuesday in the open Atlantic Ocean to a Category 2 storm, packing winds of 100 miles per hour, was expected to gain strength but posed no threat to energy interests in the Gulf of Mexico as it headed northwest and to the east of Bermuda.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said early Tuesday that Danielle was about 1,100 miles east of the Lesser Antilles, moving west at 20 mph.
According to several forecasters, the storm was expected to strengthen by early Wednesday to Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale at its intensity peak, with sustained winds over 111 mph.
