Helene Becomes 2nd Major Hurricane

Sept. 18 (Bloomberg) -- Helene became the second major hurricane of the 2006 season after strengthening over the Atlantic Ocean on a course toward Bermuda, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Helene had maximum sustained winds of 120 miles (195 kilometers) an hour at 5 a.m. Miami time, after late yesterday strengthening beyond the 111 mph threshold for a Category 3, or major hurricane, the forecaster said in an online advisory. The storm was predicted to strengthen further over the next day.
``As far as making U.S. landfall, it's too early to tell,'' Greg Romano, a spokesman for the center, said late yesterday in a telephone interview. The center's forecast shows Helene tracking northwest over the next five days on a path toward Bermuda.
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