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 The center of Gonzalo was moving northwest, away from the British
and U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, prompting storm alerts for
those areas to be lifted.
Most forecasts showed Gonzalo posing no threat to the mainland
United States and moving further north into the Atlantic. It could
hit Bermuda late on Friday, and the island was put under a hurricane
watch.
Gonzalo is the sixth hurricane of the 2014 Atlantic hurricane
season, which runs through the end of November. Forecasters in
August predicted lower-than-usual activity for the season, with
seven to 12 named storms and no more than two reaching major
hurricane status.
Gonzalo was about 705 miles (1,135 km) south of Bermuda late on
Tuesday and packed sustained winds reaching 125 miles per hour (205
km per hour), the center said.
A major hurricane is considered to be Category 3 or above with winds
hitting at least 111 mph (178 kph).
"Gonzalo has a good chance of becoming the Atlantic's first Category
4 hurricane since Oct. 2, 2011," when Hurricane Ophelia's winds
reached 140 mph (225 kph), according to Jeff Masters, a hurricane
expert with private forecaster Weather Underground.
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Gonzalo would likely begin weakening by late on Thursday, but could
still reach Bermuda "anywhere between a Category 1 and Category 3
storm", he wrote in a blog post.
Forecast models showed it passing within 30 to 80 miles (48 to 129
km) of the island on Friday.
The Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico experienced only light to
moderate rain and wind gusts on Tuesday, and no significant damage
or loss of power was reported.
(Reporting by Colleen Jenkins, David Adams, and Reuters in San Juan;
Editing by Mohammad Zargham, Marguerita Choy, Cynthia Osterman and
Ryan Woo)
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