MIAMI (AP) – The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Harvey has strengthened to a Category 4 storm.
The center says Harvey has sustained wind speeds of 130 mph (209 kph) as the powerful storm churns off the Texas coast. Forecasters are labeling it a “life-threatening storm.”
The storm quickly grew Thursday from a tropical depression into a Category 1 hurricane, and then developed into a Category 2 storm early Friday. By Friday afternoon, it had become a Category 3 storm before strengthening to a Category 4. It’s forecast to make landfall in Texas late Friday or early Saturday.
The storm is 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Corpus Christi.