Environment

Hurricane Bill a Category 3 Storm: Bermuda on Alert

by Amy Judd | August 20, 2009 at 12:38 pm

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Hurricane Bill is now a category 3 storm, but it is expected to become stronger and Bermuda has been placed on alert for the approaching storm that will bring very powerful winds and huge ocean swells.

A hurricane watch has been issued by the Bermuda Weather Service, and Hurricane Bill is the first hurricane of the Atlantic season. It is currently at about 1,100 kilometres south to southeast of the island of Bermuda.

The category three hurricane was moving at about 30 kilometres per hour toward the northwest, and was expected to pass over the open waters between the United States and Bermuda early Saturday, the US National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said.

Hurricane Bill has winds of about 195 km/h and could become a category four storm in the next 24 hours. It has the potential to cause extensive damage if is reaches land.

A storm's status depends on how strong the winds are; a category 3 storm will cause extensive damage to buildings and a category 4 will cause 'extensive dangerous winds'.

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The_Cynic

at 18:57 on August 20th, 2009

That baby just may go right past me! I will have the camera out if he does.

In its first bulletin on Bill, the Canadian Hurricane Centre said Thursday that parts of Atlantic Canada can expect heavy rain and hurricane-force winds on Sunday. While the storm will lose some of its punch, winds are still expected to top 120 km/h by Sunday evening, the centre said. The projected track of the storm's eye takes Bill within 150 kilometres south of Halifax and over the southern edge of Cape Breton before moving on to Newfoundland on Monday. Officials with the Halifax Regional Municipality said staff from the municipal Emergency Measures Organization and the provincial Emergency Management Office would meet Friday to plan for possible scenarios.

That is for Nova Scotia - but if the track changes just a few degrees left, New Brunswick will be splattered by him.