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HAMILTON, Bermuda-Hurricane Bertha was on course Saturday to create tropical storm conditions in Bermuda as it slowly approached the Atlantic island, forecasters said.The Bermuda Weather Service issued a tropical storm warning Saturday morning and the outer bands of Bertha threatened to sideswipe the island on Sunday.The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the category 1 hurricane was chugging north at about 2 mph.Surfers and swimmers remained in the water under sunny skies on Friday despite reports of stronger surf and rip currents along the southern coast."I'm not concerned at all," said John Wilson, a native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who was vacationing in the capital of the wealthy British territory."If you're going to be on an island during a hurricane, the best thing is to be in a hotel with a nice minibar. And I'm on the second floor, so the waves won't hit me!"At midday Saturday, Bertha was centered about 210 miles southeast of the Bermuda and had maximum sustained winds of about 85 mph with some higher gusting.The storm is expected to pass well east of Bermuda, although any inclination toward the west would create stronger winds. Bermuda will likely receive up to 2 inches of rain in the next two days.Bertha became the Atlantic season's first hurricane on July 7 and has vacillated between a Category 1 and 2 storm.Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Elida formed off Mexico's Pacific coast Saturday.The U.S. National Hurricane Center says Elida had sustained winds of nearly 40 mph, with higher gusts.On Saturday morning, Elida was located about 220 miles south of Puerto Angel, Mexico, and about 370 miles southeast of Acapulco.It was traveling northwest into the Pacific, away from land, at about 14 mph, and was expected to stay on this track for the next 36 to 48 hours.Click here for maps, forecasts and satellite images at the National Hurricane Center.
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As in the days of Noah....
