Hurricane Bill 5 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 20
At 5 a.m. AST, the center of Hurricane Bill was located 325 miles north-northeast of the Leeward Islands and about 790 miles south-southeast of Bermuda.
Bill is moving toward the northwest and this general motion is expected for the next day or so with a turn toward the north-northwest by late Friday.
Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 125 mph with higher gusts. Bill is a category three hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Some strengthening is possible during the next 24-hours and Bill could regain category four status later today or Friday. A NOAA Hurricane Hunter aircraft is currently enroute to investigate Bill.
Bill is a large tropical cyclone. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 85 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 230 miles. Large swells associated with Bill will be impacting the islands of the northeast Caribbean Sea and the east coast of the United States Friday and Saturday.