Lisbon: Hurricane Lorenzo, which is currently in the central Atlantic Ocean, has strengthened to an "extremely powerful" Category 5 hurricane.

"Lorenzo is now an extremely powerful category 5 hurricane. It is the strongest hurricane on record this far north and east in the Atlantic basin," USA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) tweeted. The hurricane had formed on Monday near the Cape Verde Islands off Africa's coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

In the wake of the hurricane, the winds have touched speeds up to 160 mph.

Lorenzo is currently 2,285 kilometre south-west of the Azores, as per NHC.