Danny strengthens into first hurricane of 2015 Atlantic season

By Letitia Stein TAMPA, Fla. (Reuters) - Danny became the first hurricane of the 2015 Atlantic season on Thursday even as the storm remained relatively small and far from affecting any land, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Winds from Danny were gusting up to 75 miles per hour (120 kph), government forecasters said, just attaining hurricane status of at least 74 mph (119 kph) winds. Danny could weaken back into a tropical storm before reaching Puerto Rico on Tuesday, according to the Miami-based hurricane center's five-day outlook. "Danny is a small tropical cyclone," the center said, adding that hurricane-force winds extended only 10 miles (20 km) from the center of the storm. Danny, a Category 1 hurricane at the low end of the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity, is the fourth named storm of the 2015 hurricane season, which forecasters have predicted would be quieter than normal. The latest U.S. government projections call for six to 10 named storms, with as many as four reaching hurricane status. At most, only one of the storms is expected to develop into a major hurricane, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. However, forecasters have warned that below-average years in the past have seen some of the most destructive storms in history, such as Hurricane Andrew in 1992, a Category 5 hurricane that devastated south Florida. The El Niño weather pattern is among the factors involved in this year's predicted weaker hurricane season, which runs from June 1 through Nov. 30, according to NOAA. (Reporting by Letitia Stein; Editing by Susan Heavey and Mohammad Zargham)