NU Online News Service, Sept. 17, 10:13 a.m. EDT

Three Atlantic hurricanes are currently churning, with two of them--both major Category 3 storms--prompting the National Hurricane Center (NHC) to issue warnings or watches.

Hurricane Karl, in the Gulf of Mexico, was about 50 miles off the coast of Veracruz, Mexico as of the NHC's 7:00 a.m. EDT update. A hurricane warning is in effect for the coast of Mexico, from Veracruz to Cabo Rojo. A hurricane watch has been issued north of Cabo Rojo to La Cruz, and a tropical storm warning is in effect south of Veracruz to Punta El Lagarto.

The NHC said the storm will make landfall "later today" and move further inland tonight and tomorrow. The storm, already a Category 3, is expected to strengthen a little more before making landfall.

Hurricane Igor, meanwhile, is in the Atlantic Ocean and is expected to approach Bermuda on Sunday. A hurricane watch is in effect. The official NHC forecast shows the storm passing directly over the island by early Monday morning, but not at its current Category 3 strength.

The storm was about 730 miles south-southeast of Bermuda as of 7:00 a.m. EDT, moving northwest at nine miles per hour. The forecast does not show Igor as a threat to the U.S. East Coast, but the storm will cause swells along coastal waters throughout the weekend, the NHC said.

Further east in the Atlantic Ocean, the storm Julia intensified into a hurricane, but it is expected to weaken again later today. The forecast for Julia shows the storm turning north, then northeast over the next five days, posing no threat to land.

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