Hurricane Bill was expected to become a major storm in the next couple of days, with winds topping 110 miles per hour (177 kilometres per hour) as it moved on a track expected to be near Bermuda by the end of the week.
The storm is very large, with tropical winds extending out 200 miles (321 kilometres), so Bermuda faced a potential threat even if the Atlantic island avoided a direct hit, said a forecaster with the British territory's weather service.