There are no coastal watches or warnings in effect.

SURF: Large swells generated by Epsilon will affect Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, the Leeward Islands, the east coast of the United States, and Atlantic Canada during the next few days. These swells are likely to cause lifethreatening surf and rip current conditions. Please consult products from your local weather office.

At 1100 AM AST (1500 UTC), the center of Hurricane Epsilon was located near latitude 34.1 North, longitude 61.6 West. Epsilon is moving toward the north near 10 mph (17 km/h). A general northward motion with increasing forward speed is expected through early Saturday, with a very fast forward motion toward the northeast early next week.

Maximum sustained winds remain near 85 mph (140 km/h) with higher gusts. Some fluctuations in strength could occur for the next day or so before gradual weakening begins on Sunday. Epsilon could lose tropical characteristics late Sunday.

Epsilon remains a large tropical cyclone. Hurricaneforce winds extend outward up to 15 miles (30 km) from the center and tropicalstormforce winds extend outward up to 255 miles (405 km).

The estimated minimum central pressure is 968 mb (28.59 inches).

Epsilon's structure has not changed appreciably in the last 12 hours, with a small eye intermittently appearing in geostationary satellite and polar-orbiting microwave imagery with additional well-defined curved outer bands. The initial intensity is kept at 75 kt based on SAB and TAFB satellite estimates and the satellite trends. The cyclone continues to move to the north but at a slightly faster speed (360/09 kt). This northward track is expected for the next day or so as the hurricane is primarily steered by a deep-layer ridge located to its east. Thereafter, Epsilon is forecast to turn toward the northeast and accelerate due to strong mid-latitude westerlies ahead of an approaching longwave trough. By 60 h, Epsilon will be moving rapidly over cooler waters and is expected to be completing extratropical transition. The latest NHC official track is very similar to the previous one and is near the corrected-consensus models. Epsilon remains in a low vertical wind shear environment and will actually be moving over slightly warmer waters over the next day as it passes across a warm Gulf Stream eddy. It is unclear, however, that the current storm structure would allow for any strengthening. Thus, the official forecast maintains the current intensity for the next 36 h, and it is likely that inner-core processes will dictate any short-term fluctuations in intensity. After 36 h, slow weakening should begin as southwesterly vertical wind shear gradually increases and Epsilon reaches the north edge of the Gulf Stream. However, the system is likely to merge with another mid-latitude cyclone and become a powerful extratropical low at the end of the forecast period. The new NHC intensity forecast closely mirrors the previous one and the latest global model wind speed consensus forecast.