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MIAMI - Hurricane Bill, the first of the Atlantic storm season, was downgraded to a Category One storm on Saturday, losing some of its strength as it headed towards the US and Canadian east coasts.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned of dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents from the storm, but said Bill's top winds had decreased in speed to 85 miles (140 kilometres) an hour.
The storm was still set to head close to the upscale Massachusetts island resort of Martha's Vineyard, where US President Barack Obama and his family are heading for vacation Sunday.
In its 2100 GMT advisory, the NHC said it was downgrading Bill to a Category One storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale, capable of producing "damaging winds."
The main effect of the storm seemed to be dangerous ocean conditions, with the NHC warning that "large swells generated by Hurricane Bill are still affecting the Bahamas and Bermuda" and would continue to affect the US east coast and the Atlantic Maritime provinces of Canada.
"These swells will likely cause extremely dangerous surf and life-threatening rip currents," it warned.
Bill's eye was about 300 miles (480 km) south-southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts and 585 miles (940 km) south-southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia, moving northward at about 24 miles (39 km) per hour.
Most of the hurricane, the Center said, "should pass offshore the coast of New England late today or tonight and approach Nova Scotia on Sunday." But it was expected to begin weakening Sunday as it moved over cooler waters.
In Canada, authorities issued tropical storm warnings for much of Nova Scotia's coast, while a hurricane watch was in effect for some far parts of the province.
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 airport overnight Friday to Saturday as the tourist destination bunkered down. But the British overseas territory avoided a direct hit from Bill, which neared Massachusetts in time for the Obamas' arrival.
Yacht owners battened down the hatches at Martha's Vineyard, a popular resort for the wealthy where the US first family was due to spend a week unwinding for the first time since Obama's inauguration in January.
The NHC said a tropical storm watch was in place for the resort island, but only forecast around one inch of rain would fall on the holiday destination.
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.
The storm would be "marginal" in strength by the time it arrived along the Canadian coast, said Peter Bowyer of the Canadian Hurricane Center in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
"We now believe the storm will not strengthen anymore. In fact, it should weaken as it moves through our district," he said.
The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and ends on November 30.
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.
- AFP /ls
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