Tropical storm Jerry likely to become a hurricane later today -NHC

Sept 19 (Reuters) - Tropical storm Jerry is expected to strengthen into a hurricane later on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its latest advisory.

The system is located about 625 miles (1,005 km) east of the Leeward Islands, with maximum sustained winds of 65 miles per hour (100 km/h), the NHC added.

"The center of Jerry will be near or north of the northern Leeward Islands Friday and pass north of Puerto Rico on Saturday," the Miami-based weather forecaster said.

(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; editing by Darren Schuettler)