Gert Surges to Hurricane Strength

Tropical Storm Gert surged late Monday to become the second hurricane of the Atlantic season, the National Hurricane Center said.

For now, the storm posed no risk to land as it was far from Bermuda, the NHC said at 2300 GMT in Miami.

The Category One storm, out of a maximum five, had top sustained winds of 75 miles per hour (120 kmh) and was churning 445 miles (720 kilometers) west of Bermuda.

The Atlantic Ocean is facing a higher likelihood of an "extremely active" hurricane season with more storms than previously predicted, US forecasters warned on Wednesday, updating the previous outlook issued in May.

Between 14 and 19 big storms -- ranging from tropical storms to powerful hurricanes -- are now expected for the Atlantic, up from 11 to 17 predicted in the May outlook.

Five to nine of those could be hurricanes, and two to five of those could be major hurricanes.

A major hurricane means Category 3 or higher with wind speeds of 111-129 miles per hour (178-208 kilometers per hour).