(RNN) - Hurricane Irma remains a strong Category 3 storm out in the Atlantic Ocean, packing maximum sustained winds of 115 mph.
It's still too soon to say how Irma may impact the U.S. coast, but it's one people should keep an eye on as as it churns its way west.
Located 840 miles west-northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands and 1,665 miles east of the Leeward Islands, Irma is moving west-northwest at 12 mph as of the 5 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
Forecasters expect Irma to turn west by Friday night and then make a turn toward the west-southwest by Saturday. After it passes to the south side of a high pressure system, Irma is expected to return to a western or west-southwestern heading.
Since Irma is still so far out in the tropical Atlantic, no watches and warnings have been issued in association with this storm.
Because the storm is currently going over waters of marginal warmth and may impact some dry air, forecasters expect little change in strength over the next few days, forecasters said.
#Irma is forecast to remain over the tropical Atlantic Ocean as a major hurricane through early Wednesday https://t.co/qVKxi93JYh pic.twitter.com/Cq9zyKCzxF
— NHC Atlantic Ops (@NHC_Atlantic) September 1, 2017
After that, it will enter an area more conducive to development, which will cause the hurricane to strengthen to possibly a 140 mph storm, a Category 4 storm.
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