Hurricane Larry, which emerged in the eastern Atlantic early yesterday, was upgraded from tropical storm status overnight, according to the National Hurricane Centre in the US.

Mark Guishard, director of the Bermuda Weather Service, said last night the westbound storm was moving through waters “conducive to further strengthening”.

Dr Guishard said of the storm, which was packing sustained winds of 75mph: “Larry will continue its northwest progression towards our latitude, and may become a potential threat for the middle of next week.”

But he cautioned that “uncertainty remains high about its track and intensity beyond the weekend”.

This morning it was 2,400 miles east-southeast of Bermuda moving west at 19mph.

Closer to home, the remnants of Tropical Storm Kate – in a final BWS bulletin – were no longer considered any threat to the island.

The NHC forecast shows Larry building to Category 3 strength and hooking on a northwesterly course as the storm moves around a subtropical ridge in the coming days.

Category 3 storms run from 111mph to 129mph – although the NHC said its intensity forecast could get higher than the 120mph predicted.

Whether Larry could loom into a threat to Bermuda should grow clearer by the end of the week.