Hurricane Joaquin to bring storm surge to Bahamas: U.S. monitor

(Reuters) - Hurricane Joaquin will bring high winds and a storm surge to the Central Bahamas through Thursday night, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory. The major hurricane, located about 65 miles (105 km) southeast of San Salvador with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/h), is expected to strengthen in the next day or so, the NHC said. A major hurricane is classified as packing winds of 111 miles per hour (179 km/h) or higher, corresponding to Category 3 or higher on a scale of 1 to 5, according to the NHC. (Reporting by Arpan Varghese in Bengaluru; editing by John Stonestreet)