Hurricane Epsilon rapidly strengthens into Category 3 storm

The Category 3 storm is likely to miss Bermuda, yet its effects may still be felt there, so the island is under a tropical storm warning. With 185 kph winds, Epsilon gained 80 kph in wind speed in just 24 hours, officially qualifying as a rapidly intensifying storm.

Epsilon rapidly intensified into a major hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday afternoon. The Category 3 storm is likely to miss Bermuda, yet its effects may still be felt there, so the island is under a tropical storm warning.

With 185 kph winds, Epsilon gained 80 kph in wind speed in just 24 hours, officially qualifying as a rapidly intensifying storm. It is the seventh storm this season to power up this quickly. Over the past couple decades, meteorologists have been increasingly worried about storms that just blow up from nothing to a whopper, just like Epsilon. They created an official threshold for this dangerous rapid intensification — a storm gaining 56 kph in wind speed in just 24 hours.