Joaquin strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane in the Atlantic on Wednesday

Joaquin is the third hurricane of the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season.

The central Bahamas is under a hurricane warning and the northwestern Bahamas is under a hurricane watch, the centre said.

The center of the storm could move over the central Bahams as early as tonight, forecasters said. Forecasters said widespread minor tidal flooding is expected during high tide beginning Thursday and possibly lasting into the weekend. It was about 245 miles east- northeast of the central Bahamas, moving southwest at 6 mph, according to an 8 a.m. advisory from the Miami-based center.

Hurricane Joaquin has been upgraded from tropical storm status – and is heading for the East Coast of the US.

In any case, over the next few days Joaquin could become a major hurricane, it added.

Joaquin is expected to produce 5 to 10 inches of rain with isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches possible over San Salvador and Rum Cay through Friday morning.

Hurricane conditions are expected to reach portions of the Central Bahamas on Thursday.

There are various weather models alternately predicting the storm heading out to sea or closer into the coast, said National Weather Service meteorologist Jeff Orrock. If the storm tracks toward the middle of the cone, with landfall in New Jersey or Long Island, high winds, in addition to heavy rain would be expected.

Rain chances remain out of the forecast through early next week.

The National Hurricane Center is also watching the Gulf of Mexico for potential tropical development.

As the storm tracks north Thursday after passing over the Bahamas, the New York area will see heavy rain from a different system.

But other forecast models show Joaquin heading northeast – and bypassing the East Coast altogether.

Through the weekend, increasing winds and ground that has been soaked by rain this week may bring downed trees, and that may mean power outages.