Tropical Storm Chris was upgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane by the National Hurricane Center this afternoon, marking the second hurricane of 2018, in the western Atlantic.

The good news is Chris started to turn away from the US earlier today, and is presently posing no threat to the US eastern seaboard states.

As of 4pm, Hurricane Chris was located some 205 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras, NC, moving northeast at 10 mph, packing winds from 60 to 85 mph.

The storm is expected to pick up more speed as it continues moving to the northeast.

Residents in North Carolina were urged to keep an eye on Hurricane Chris, but no watches or warnings were put into effect.

Forecasters also say Chris may not be a hurricane for long as it could be downgraded to a non-tropical storm by Thursday night or early Friday.

It was also noted that this is only the fourth time in hurricane record keeping history in the satellite era, dating back to 1966, that two hurricanes have formed in the Atlantic before July 10 in the annual hurricane season.

The only other years two hurricanes were recorded before July 10 were 1966, 1968 and 2005.

Meanwhile, the storm’s centre is expected to pass west of Bermuda tomorrow morning.

Forecasters at the Bermuda Weather Service say the Category 1 storm is not likely to have a significant impact on the island, with moderate to strong winds and swells up to 9ft expected.

While considered to be a “potential threat”, Chris is forecast to pass some 351 miles to the northwest of Bermuda around 10am on Wednesday morning.

And while lingering to the west of the island Chris is expected to move out the local area quickly north-eastward.

Swells offshore could reach up to nine feet by Wednesday evening into Thursday morning.

And a small craft warning has been issued for tomorrow morning through to the following day. This too may change.

Chris is also expected to drop plenty of rain starting Wednesday evening through to Thursday, with a chance of thunderstorms.

A thunderstorm advisory may be put into effect late Wednesday night through to Thursday morning.