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Hurricane Bill douses Bermuda as it moves north
 
 
 
 
 
 
 AFP - Sunday, August 23
MIAMI (AFP) - - Hurricane Bill, the first of the Atlantic storm season, doused Bermuda with heavy rain Saturday as it barreled past the islands, raising fears of life-threatening waves along the US east coast.
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Packing winds of 105 miles (165 kilometers) an hour, the hurricane was set to head perilously close to the upscale island resort of Martha's Vineyard, where US President Barack Obama and his family are heading for vacation Sunday.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned of "extremely dangerous" surf and "life-threatening rip currents" throughout a vast area including the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.
But the center downgraded the hurricane a notch to Category Two on the Saffir-Simpson scale, meaning the storm threatens to cause widespread damage but does not carry the same potential to destroy weak homes as a Category Three storm.
In the Dominican Republic, on the island of Hispaniola, authorities reported waves up to 10 feet (three meters) due to Bill's passage.
Bermuda shut down its main international gateway, L.F. Wade International Airport, for the night as the tourist island bunkered in.
"It's quite wild at the moment, but we're used to hurricanes in Bermuda," said Lorna Cervantez, who works at the island's Royal Palms Hotel. "From our previous experience, we have to get ready."
Bermuda was expected to avoid a direct hit from Bill as the hurricane churns past it on its way near Massachusetts in time for the Obamas' arrival.
A tropical storm warning was in effect on the coast of Massachusetts from Woods Hole to Sagamore Beach.
Yacht owners battened down the hatches at Martha's Vineyard, a popular island of tranquility for the rich and famous where the US first family was due to spend a week unwinding for the first time since Obama's inauguration in January.
"Phones are ringing off the hook and the hurricane is all people are talking about," said Ned Kaiser, the assistant harbor master at Martha's Vineyard.
"We're hearing we'll have pretty big seas with the storm surge coming. Out in the ocean now, the waves are 12 to 15 feet" (3.7 to 4.6 meters).
One of the most prominent people affected by the hurricane was coincidentally also named Bill -- former US president Bill Clinton, who was taking a vacation in Bermuda with his wife, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the power couple left Thursday but would not comment on the next stop in their vacation, which Clinton aides have kept a closely guarded secret.
It was the latest bad vacation news for the itinerant travelers, who canceled an earlier holiday on the Greek island of Corfu after the US diplomatic chief broke her elbow, forcing her to skip a trip to a regional conference there.
US oil giant Exxon Mobil said it was evacuating all 200 workers from a gas platform off the Canadian east coast ahead of Hurricane Bill's expected weekend arrival.
At 0900 GMT Saturday, Bill's eye was about 220 miles (355 kilometers) northwest of Bermuda, and about 430 miles (690 kilometers) east-southeast of the US coastline at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, the NHC said.
It was moving northwest at around 22 miles (35 kilometers) per hour.
"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 this morning," the NHC said.
The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and ends on November 30.
Weather experts specializing in hurricane forecasting predicted above average activity over the next two weeks.
Experts earlier this month reduced the number of projected hurricanes in the north Atlantic this season to four, two of them major hurricanes with winds above 111 miles (179 kilometers) per hour.
Bill's progress follows one of the calmest starts to the hurricane season in a decade, which researchers for the state of Colorado attributed to the development of an El Nino effect in the Pacific.
 
 
 
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The Nation's WeatherAP - Sunday, August 23
 
 
 
 
 
 Enlarge Photo
 
This August 21 NOAA satellite image shows Hurricane Bill, located 820 miles (1,320 kilometers) southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Hurricane Bill, the first of the Atlantic storm season, doused Bermuda with heavy rain as it barreled past the islands, raising fears of life-threatening waves along the US east coast.
 
 
 
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