Lorenzo, formed on Monday in the far eastern Atlantic near the Cape Verde Islands off Africa, has become a "large and powerful" Category 5 hurricane late on Saturday, according to the National Hurricane Centre (NHC), Trend reports citing Sputnik.
According to the NHC, Lorenzo has become "the strongest hurricane this far North and East in the Atlantic basin" in recorded history.
The NHC warned earlier that "Lorenzo is a large hurricane [...] and its tropical-storm-force wind fields are expected to expand further during the next several days [...] Large swells generated by Lorenzo will continue to spread across much of the western and northern parts of the Atlantic basin during the next few days. These swells will produce life-threatening surf and rip currents".
Earlier in September, Hurricane Dorian devastated the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco, where dowzens were killed and an estimated 70,000 people were left homeless in the aftermath.