Gaston to remain a powerful hurricane for several days: NHC

(Reuters) - Gaston, the first major Atlantic hurricane of the season, is forecast to remain a powerful system for the next several days, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Monday. The hurricane, now a Category 2 system, is located about 1,680 miles (2,705 km) west of the Azores, and moving with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles per hour (175 kph), the Miami-based weather forecaster added. There were no coastal watches or warnings in effect for the storm, the NHC said. The NHC said on Saturday evening the system had achieved hurricane strength and upgraded it on Sunday afternoon to Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity. (Reporting by Swati Verma and Vijaykumar Vedala in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)