On Wednesday afternoon, just hours after Hurricane Irma made landfall, Tropical Storms Jose and Katia both strengthened into Category 1 hurricanes. Both Jose and Irma now have maximum sustained winds of 75 miles per hour.
Jose is churning in the Atlantic well east of Irma. It appears to be headed toward the Caribbean, though it's not yet clear if it will make landfall. The National Hurricane Center advised that Jose is "quickly strengthening" and could possibly intensify to "major hurricane strength" on Friday.
Katia is forming in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico and is expected to make landfall in Mexico this weekend. A hurricane watch has already been issued for the coast of the Mexican state of Veracruz.
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Meanwhile, the first of the three hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean is wreaking havoc. Irma, a Category 5 storm, passed over the British Virgin Islands on Wednesday afternoon, packing sustained winds of 185 miles per hour. Irma is the most powerful Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and is expected to remain a Category 5 or 4 as it heads toward Puerto Rico and then to Florida.
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