NU Online News Service, Oct. 21, 2:19 p.m. EDT
The 17th named storm of the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season has formed and it is expected to intensify.
Tropical Storm Richard is now meandering between Nicaragua and Jamaica and is expected to become a hurricane over the weekend.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said two of its models show Richard strengthening to a major hurricane, with at least Category 3 intensity.
For now the NHC predicts Richard will make landfall Oct. 25 at the Yucatan Peninsula before reemerging in the Gulf of Mexico on Oct. 26.
Richard has maximum sustained winds of 40 mph extending outward up to 105 miles, the NHC said. The center predicts 4 to 8 inches of rainfall over Jamaica, which could produce flash floods and mud slides.
The NHC skips over the letters Q and U when naming storms and only goes to the letter W.
Hurricane Paula affected western Cuba as a Category 1 storm earlier this month.
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