Hurricane Franklin Now Category 4, Takes Aim at Bermuda

Franklin strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane Monday morning, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.

Franklin was located about 490 miles southwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds nearing 130 mph (210 kph), the Miami-based center said.

Franklin is expected to turn away from the U.S. eastern seaboard in the early part of the week but pass near the island of Bermuda on Wednesday, an NHC map shows.

A tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of above 110 mph or higher is considered a major hurricane.

Swells generated by Franklin began affecting Bermuda on Sunday night.

"These swells are also likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions through the beginning of this week along portions of the east coast of the United States," it said in the Sunday advisory.

This year's Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to Nov. 30, is expected to have 18 named tropical storms, nine of which become hurricanes, four of them major, according to forecasters from Colorado State University.

A separate storm, Idalia, is expected to become a hurricane and could cause a life-threatening storm surge and flooding from heavy rains along parts of Florida's west coast and the Panhandle as early as Tuesday, according to the NHC.