Havana, August 20 (RHC)-- Tropical Storm Danny finally intensified Thursday morning into the first hurricane of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season, well to the east of the Lesser Antilles in the central Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricane Danny is currently located about 1,000 miles east of the Windward Islands in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. As of 11 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Thursday, maximum sustained winds reached about 75 mph with higher gusts. Some additional strengthening is possible as Danny moves west-northwest over the next several days.

Forecasters believe it will be early next week before Danny reaches the longitude of the Lesser Antilles. Hurricane Danny is then expected to weaken in the eastern Caribbean Sea.