Hurricane Karl More Powerful

Hurricane Karl grew to a powerful Category 3 storm as it bore down on the eastern coast of Mexico on Friday.

Forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Karl's top sustained winds reached Cateordy 3 status, and the storm could get stronger before making land.

A hurricane warning covered a 200-mile stretch of the eastern Mexican coast in Veracruz state from the port of Veracruz to the oil industry hub of Poza Rica.

The storm was expected to make landfall later Friday morning or early in the afternoon local time.

Tropical Storm Karl Forms Quickly

Tropical Storm Karl has formed in the northwestern Caribbean, heading on a path expected to take it over the Yucatan Peninsula and Mexico.

Forecasters say the storm has maximum sustained winds of about 40 mph and is located about 270 miles east of Chetumal, Mexico. It's moving west-northwest at 15 mph.

Mexico's government has issued a tropical storm warning for the peninsula from Chetumal northward to Cabo Catoche. Parts of Belize are under a tropical storm watch.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says the storm is expected to strengthen, and its center could be over the Yucatan on Wednesday.

Igor Bears Down on Bermuda, Julia Forms...

Hurricane Igor, the season’s most powerful storm, headed toward Bermuda on a track that may threaten the island group this weekend, while Julia became the fifth hurricane of the season today over the eastern Atlantic.

Igor was still a “dangerous” Category 4 storm, the second strongest on the 5-step Saffir-Simpson scale, after its winds dropped to 135 miles an hour from 150 mph yesterday, the National Hurricane Center said on its website at 4:45 a.m. Miami time. The storm was 750 miles east of the Caribbean’s Leeward Islands heading west-northwest at 8 mph.

Both Igor and Julia, with 75 mph winds behind it, are forecast to head into the north Atlantic while a collection of thunderstorms in the Caribbean is predicted to move west into Mexico and avoid the Gulf of Mexico, which accounts for 31 percent of the U.S. oil output, computer models show.

“Swells generated by Igor will begin affecting the Leeward Islands today and will reach Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands tonight and Wednesday,” the center said.

The center’s prediction map shows Igor weakening while heading almost directly for Bermuda early on Sept. 19.

Tropical Storm Hermine in the Gulf

Tropical Storm Hermine is getting a little stronger in the Gulf of Mexico as it heads toward the coasts of Texas and Mexico.

A tropical storm warning was issued early Monday for the southern Texas coast. A tropical storm warning was already in effect for the coast of Mexico from Tampico to the mouth of the Rio Grande.

Hermine's maximum sustained winds have increased to near 45 mph mark.

Heavy rain is predicted with northeastern Mexico into south Texas getting 4 to 8 inches with as much as a foot in some places. It could cause flash floods and mudslides.

The storm is located about 280 miles south-southeast of Brownsville, Texas, and is moving north near 10 mph.

U.S. Open: Weather Advisory, but Play Will Begin at 11

Weather advisory:

For Friday, Sept. 3, Session 9 

(as of Friday, September 3nd at 7:00 am)

Based on the latest official weather report from the US Open Meteorologist at 6am, intermittent showers are anticipated for this afternoon. We will begin today's session as scheduled at 11am.

That is the current word from The U.S. Open.

Here's the hour-by-hour forecast: