The National Hurricane Center in Miami announced that hurricane Omar will be affecting the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico's Vieques and Culebra islands and that there is a strong possibility that Omar will become even stronger.

Currently, the hurricane has reached sustained winds of 75 mph and has soaked islands in the southeastern Caribbean. Presently, hurricane Omar is travelling northeast at about 6 mph with its centre at about 310 miles, south-southwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Omar has rapidly transcended from tropical depression to tropical storm and, now, hurricane.

Hurricane warnings have been issued by the National Hurricane Center to areas like the Virgin Islands, St Kitts and Nevis and Puerto Rico. Also, the hurricane is believed to be heading for the Atlantic, where it will probably affect other islands in that area as well.

A hurricane, or tropical cyclone, is characterized by a low pressure center which is surrounded by numerous thunderstorms, fast, strong winds and rain. Hurricanes are classified as warm core storm systems, as they fuel themselves heat released when humid air rises. Hurricanes are considered large or small, by measuring the distance from the center to the outermost point belonging to the storm.

Yesterday, meteorologists thought that Omar won’t be affecting the oil and natural gas rich area of Gulf of Mexico and that if Omar had remained just a tropical storm, it would have eventually dissolved in the Atlantic Ocean. As the hurricane continues its path northeast, the regions that have been warned must prepare themselves and expect the storm to get even worse.