HAMILTON, Bermuda (AP) — Bermuda is already feeling winds of tropical-storm strength, and conditions are expected to quickly get worse today as Hurricane Gonzalo approaches.
Carrying top winds of 130 miles an hour, the storm is expected to pass near or over Bermuda this afternoon or this evening.
Hurricane-force winds are predicted to batter Bermuda for at least eight hours. Forecasters say seas will rise between 35 and 45 feet, and will cause significant flooding on the tiny island, a British territory.
The Category 4 storm is expected to weaken to a Category 3 as it passes Bermuda. But the National Hurricane Center in Miami says any weakening will probably be too late to spare Bermuda.
Bermuda has closed its schools and international airport.
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054-a-06-(Michael Brennan, National Hurricane Center Senior Hurricane Specialist,, in AP interview)-“moves near Bermuda”-National Hurricane Center Senior Hurricane Specialist Michael Brennan says Hurricane Gonzalo will be hardest felt around 5p-m in the Carribean. (17 Oct 2014)
< 055-a-09-(Michael Brennan, National Hurricane Center Senior Hurricane Specialist,, in AP interview)-“the southeast coast”-National Hurricane Center Senior Hurricane Specialist Michael Brennan says although Hurricane Gonzalo is in the Carribean, we may still feel its impact along the Atlantic coast. (17 Oct 2014) < APPHOTO NY107: This image provided by NOAA taken at 11:15 p.m. EDT Thursday Oct. 16, 2014 shows Hurricane Gonzalo, right, as it approaches Bermuda. At 11 p.m. Gonzalo was approximately 340 miles south-southwest of Bermuda with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph moving north-northeast at 14 mph according to the National Hurricane Center. Gonzalo was expected to pass within 29 miles (46 kilometers) of Bermuda on Friday night, close enough to be considered a direct hit, the Bermuda Weather Service warned. (AP Photo/NOAA) (17 Oct 2014) < Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.