Tropical Storm Sam has formed in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and is anticipated to strengthen into Hurricane Sam by Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) announced on Thursday. Sam, the 18th named storm of the 2021 season, was upgraded to a tropical storm by the NHC early on Thursday. The weather agency said the system is located about 1,745 miles east-south-east of the Northern Leeward Islands. The system is moving west at about 16 mph and is packing maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, it added. “Additional strengthening is forecast over the next several days, and Sam is now forecast to become a hurricane tomorrow and be near major hurricane intensity by the end of the weekend,” according to an NHC advisory. The weather agency said the motion of Sam is expected to continue going westward over the next several days, and then the storm will gradually slow down. There are …