The maximum sustained wind speed in Hurricane Edouard is now 115 m.p.h. which makes it a Category 3 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Scale and a Major Hurricane.  Edouard is the first Major Hurricane of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season.  It is the first hurricane to reach Major Hurricane intensity over the Atlantic basin since Hurricane Sandy briefly was a Major Hurricane south of Cuba in 2012.

At 11:00 a.m. EDT on Tuesday the center of Hurricane Edouard was located at latitude 31.1°N and longitude 57.8°N which put it about 420 miles east of Bermuda, about 1060 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras and about 1720 miles west of Fayal Island in the Azores.  Edouard was moving toward the north-northwest at 13 m.p.h.  The minimum surface pressure was 955 mb.

Edouard is moving around the western portion of the subtropical high pressure system.  It should gradually turn more to the right until it reaches the upper level westerlies which should accelerate it eastward.  Some model guidance suggest that Edouard could approach the Azores during the weekend, while other models forecast a track north of the Azores.

Edouard could intensify a little more today, but cooler Sea Surface Temperatures and stronger westerly winds will begin to weaken the hurricane when it turns eastward.