Hurricane Bill 11 a.m. advisory, Aug. 21
At 11 a.m. AST, the center of Hurricane Bill was located about 335 miles south-southwest of Bermuda and about 755 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Bill is moving toward the northwest near 18 mph. A gradual turn to the north-northwest and then north is expected later today and Saturday. On the forecast track, the core of Hurricane Bill is expected to pass over the open waters between Bermuda and the east coast of the United states on Saturday.
Maximum sustained winds are near 115 mph with higher gusts. Bill is a category three hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Some fluctuations in intensity are likely today and Saturday.
Bill remains a large tropical cyclone. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 115 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 290 miles. Radar from Bermuda indicates that some rainbands are already affecting Bermuda.
Bill is expected to produce total rain accumulations of one to three inches over Bermuda with maximum amounts of five inches.
The Bermuda weather service forecast that the storm tide will raise water levels by as much as three feet above ground level along the coast, along with large and dangerous battering waves in advance of Bill.
Large swells generated by this hurricane are affecting Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, the Bahamas and Bermuda and should begin affecting most of the U.S. east coast and the Atlantic Maritimes of Canada during the next day or two. These swells will likely cause extremely dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents.