BREAKING: Joaquin Becomes Hurricane, Expected To Head Near Pa.

By TOM DAVIS:

A tropical storm that’s expected to head toward the mid-Atlantic region has become a hurricane, the National Weather Service said.

Tropical Storm Joaquin’s maximum sustained wind speed increased to 65 miles per hour Tuesday afternoon, but the storm could pack winds as high as 90 to 100 mph once it approaches the East Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center.

The National Hurricane Center declared it a hurricane at 8 a.m. on Wednesday.

The National Hurricane Center and The Weather Channel said the storm could reach the New Jersey-Pennsylvania region by late Sunday or early Monday morning.

To reach hurricane status, wind speeds need to hit a sustained 74 miles per hour.

The storm was spinning Tuesday afternoon toward the Bahamas, but the National Weather Service expects it to cut north Friday.

The National Weather Service has issued its first warning in weeks, saying Joaquin is expected to move northward toward the Mid-Atlantic coast. Depending on the track, another round of potential heavy rainful may result in flooding.

Initial projections had the storm touching the Southeast, but that forecast was later changed to show its path pointed toward the Eastern tip of North Carolina by Sunday afternoon.

“Consensus has rapidly formed that tropical weather impact risk has escalated sharply, and is now abnormally high,” Gary Szatkowski, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in New Jersey, wrote on his Twitter account.