Sally intensifies, could wallop U.S. coast with 110-mph winds

BAY ST LOUIS, Miss./HOUSTON (Reuters) – Hurricane Sally rapidly strengthened on Monday over the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, and could hit the central Gulf Coast on Tuesday as nearly a major hurricane. The second strong storm in less than a month to threaten the region, Sally’s winds increased to 100 miles per hour (155 kph). It could wallop the Mississippi and Alabama coasts on Tuesday with devastating winds of up to 110 mph, on the cusp of becoming a Category 3 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of intensity, the NHC said.