Bermuda issued a Tropical Storm Warning because of the potential effects of Hurricane Sam. At 5:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday the center of Hurricane Sam was located at latitude 23.6°N and longitude 60.9°W which put it about 645 miles (1040 km) south-southeast of Bermuda. Sam was moving toward the northwest at 14 m.p.h. (22 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 145 m.p.h. (235 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 170 m.p.h. (280 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 938 mb.

A Tropical Storm Warning was in effect for Bermuda.

Hurricane Sam continued to be a powerful hurricane on Thursday. Sam was rated at Category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson Scale. A circular eye with a diameter of 28 miles (44 km) was present at the center of Hurricane Sam. The eye was surrounded by a ring of strong thunderstorms and the strongest winds were occurring in that ring of storms. Bands of showers and thunderstorms were revolving round the core of Sam’s circulation. Storms near the core generated strong upper level divergence that pumped mass away from the hurricane.

The size of the circulation around Hurricane Sam was increasing in size as it moved farther to the north. Winds to hurricane force extended out 60 miles (95 km) from the center of Sam. Winds to tropical storm force extended out 150 miles (240 km) from the center of circulation. The Hurricane Intensity Index (HII) for Hurricane Sam was 29.8. The Hurricane Size Index (HSI) was 17.5 and the Hurricane Wind Intensity Size Index (HWISI) was 47.3.

Hurricane Sam will move through an environment capable of maintaining a major hurricane during the next 36 hours. Sam will move over water where the Sea Surface Temperatures are near 28˚C. It will move through a region where the upper level winds are weak during the next 24 hours. An upper level trough east of the U.S. will produce southwesterly winds that will start to affect Hurricane Sam later on Friday. Those winds will blow toward the top of Sam’s circulation and they will cause more vertical wind shear. The wind shear will cause Hurricane Sam to start to weaken.

Hurricane Sam will move around the western end of a high pressure system over the Atlantic Ocean during the next 24 hours. The high will steer Sam toward the north during that time period. The upper level trough east of the U.S. will start to steer Hurricane Sam toward the northeast later on Friday. On its anticipated track Hurricane Sam will pass east of Bermuda on Friday night. The western fringes of Sam could bring gusty winds and locally heavy rain to Bermuda, which is why the Tropical Storm Warning was issued.

Elsewhere over the Atlantic Ocean, Tropical Storm Victor strengthened a little southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. At 5:00 p.m. EDT on Thursday the center of Tropical Storm Victor was located at latitude 9.9°N and longitude 30.0°W which put it about 585 miles (940 km) southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands. Victor was moving toward the west-northwest at 14 m.p.h. (22 km/h). The maximum sustained wind speed was 45 m.p.h. (75 km/h) and there were wind gusts to 60 m.p.h. (95 km/h). The minimum surface pressure was 1003 mb.