Hurricane Gonzalo regains strength on way to Bermuda
By Leanne McGrath HAMILTON Bermuda (Reuters) - Hurricane Gonzalo regained strength on Thursday, again reaching Category 4 as it swirled towards Bermuda, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, prompting residents of the island to prepare for the second major storm in a week. Gonzalo was about 485 miles (780 km) south-southwest of Bermuda early on Thursday, the center said, with maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour (230 kph). The hurricane was expected to send large swells and potentially dangerous surf conditions to the U.S. East Coast on Thursday before bringing hurricane-force winds to Bermuda on Friday, forecasters said. Bermuda is still recovering from Tropical Storm Fay, which swept over the island early on Sunday with near hurricane-force winds of 70 mph (110 kph). About 1,500 homes were still without power on Thursday. Hardware and grocery stores on the island were selling out of essential supplies such as generators, flashlights, water and batteries ahead of Gonzalo. At the main garbage dump, residents lined up to dispose of trash and storm debris from Fay to stop it blowing around and causing further damage during Gonzalo. Most airlines have scheduled extra flights off Bermuda for Thursday, with the airport set to close Thursday evening and reopen on Saturday at the earliest. Gonzalo is expected to see slow weakening on Thursday night, with steadier weakening late Friday, forecasters said, but is still expected to be at hurricane strength when it hits Bermuda. It is the Atlantic's first Category 4 hurricane since 2011, when Hurricane Ophelia's winds reached 140 mph (225 kph), according to Jeff Masters, a hurricane expert with private forecaster Weather Underground. Bermuda last saw back-to-back storms of similar intensity in 1981, though neither storm caused significant damage. Gonzalo is the sixth hurricane of the 2014 Atlantic season, which runs through the end of November. Forecasters in August predicted lower-than-usual activity for the season, with seven to 12 named storms and no more than two reaching major hurricane status. A major hurricane is considered to be Category 3 or above with winds hitting at least 111 mph (178 kph). Gonzalo caused damage in the Caribbean islands of Antigua, St Maarten, and Martinique, local authorities and media reports said. An 87-year-old sailor in St Maarten died after his boat sank in a marina where 37 vessels were damaged, the Daily Herald reported. (Additional reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco and Arpan Varghese in Bangalore; Writing by Jonathan Kaminsky; Editing by David Adams, Janet Lawrence and Eric Walsh)
