Hurricane Chris Officially Forms in the Atlantic

news image
Top Stories
10 Jul 2018 3:01 PM
On Tuesday, Hurricane Chris officially formed in the western Atlantic, making it the second hurricane of the Atlantic season so far in 2018. Chris officially strengthened from a tropical storm to a hurricane on Tuesday afternoon about 200 east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft found that the storm's maximum sustained winds had increased to hurricane force. Maximum winds, as of the 11pm Eastern Time advisory, were up to 105 MPH. The storm quickly strengthened to a Category 2 storm, the strongest hurricane so far in the Atlantic Basin, by late Tuesday night. Fortunately, Chris is not expected to pose a direct threat to the United States or the Caribbean. Large surf and rip currents will be the main hazards for the eastern seaboard of the U.S., Bermuda and the Canadian maritimes through Friday, though coastal parts of Canada could see strong winds and heavy rain from the storm. A bit of good news with the storm as well: After remaining at or near stationary for most of Sunday and Monday, Chris' forward speed finally started to gain momentum on Tuesday, with movement up to 10 MPH by 11pm ET. The storm will continue to accelerate off to the north and east as we move through the rest of the week. With Chris developing into the second hurricane of the Atlantic season, that puts the basin way ahead of schedule. The second hurricane in the Atlantic doesn't typically take place until August 28th. Stay with WeatherNation through hurricane season and for the latest on Chris. For WeatherNation: Meteorologist Chris Bianchi
All Weather News
More
Snow Chances For The Mid-South and Southeast This Week

Snow Chances For The Mid-South and Southeast This Week

Forecast TimingA trough of low pressure is ex

12 Jan 2026 12:35 AM
Record Warmth in Store For the West

Record Warmth in Store For the West

Here comes the warmth again across the West!

11 Jan 2026 10:50 PM
Snow Squalls In The Northeast

Snow Squalls In The Northeast

The Northeastern U.S. has been one of the mor

11 Jan 2026 10:45 PM
One Year Later: Palisades and Eaton Fires

One Year Later: Palisades and Eaton Fires

It has been one year since the Palisades and

11 Jan 2026 2:05 AM
Severe Threat Has Ended in the South

Severe Threat Has Ended in the South

Outlooks & TimingFriday night and Saturda

10 Jan 2026 8:30 PM
Snow Returns to Ski Country

Snow Returns to Ski Country

It's been a slow start to the ski season for

8 Jan 2026 1:45 AM
Wintry Weather to Rain Chances In The Northeast

Wintry Weather to Rain Chances In The Northeast

NORTHEAST - We've had a series of clipper sys

7 Jan 2026 10:35 AM