Hurricane Franklin to become major hurricane by late Sunday- US NHC

(Reuters) – Hurricane Franklin is forecast to become a major hurricane by late on Sunday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) said on Saturday.

The hurricane is located about 615 miles (990 km) south of Bermuda, packing maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (140 kph), the Miami-based forecaster said in an advisory.

A turn north-northwest is expected on Sunday, followed by a northward motion early in the week, it said.

Swells generated by the hurricane are expected to begin affecting Bermuda by Sunday night and will likely cause life-threatening surf and rip-current conditions from late this weekend along portions of the U.S. east coast, the advisory said.

(This story has been refiled to add dropped kph conversion in paragraph 2)

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Diane Craft, Daniel Wallis and William Mallard)