A superstorm threatening 50 million people in the most heavily populated corridor in the nation gained strength Monday, packing winds of 90 mph and picking up considerable speed just hours before it is expected to make landfall, forecasters said.

The National Hurricane Center said Monday morning that the Category 1 hurricane is moving northwest at 28 mph - up from 18 mph a few hours earlier. At 2:00 p.m. ET the storm was centered about 175 miles south-southeast of New York City, or about 110 miles southeast of Atlantic City, N.J. Hurricane-force winds extend up to 175 miles from the storm.