PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — The first hurricane of this year’s Atlantic season gathered force far out to sea late Monday, while weaker storm systems drenched the northeastern Caribbean and the Florida Panhandle.
Hurricane Bill was expected to become a major storm in the next couple of days, with winds topping 110 mph as it moved on a track expected to be near Bermuda by the end of the week. It had become a Category 2 storm with winds whipping at 100 mph.
It was too soon to tell if Bill would threaten the eastern coast of the United States, said John Cangialosi, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center. It was not expected to threaten Florida.
“The system is certainly large and eventually will be a powerful hurricane,” Cangialosi said. But colder waters and wind shear could weaken it when it moves farther north.
The storm is very large, with tropical winds extending out 150 miles, so Bermuda faced a potential threat even if the Atlantic island avoided a direct hit, said Nick Camizzi, a forecaster with the British territory’s weather service.
“We are keeping an eye on it for sure,” Camizzi said.
Along the Florida Panhandle, Tropical Storm Claudette quickly weakened after it made landfall at Fort Walton Beach. By late Monday, much of the rain and storms had ceased and all flood watches and warnings had expired. Milligan and Crestview, Fla., saw the most rain with about 4.5 inches. Other areas in Florida, Alabama and Georgia received 1 to 4 inches.
Far out in the Pacific, Hurricane Guillermo weakened to a tropical storm with maximum sustained winds near 45 mph. Guillermo was centered about 525 miles east of Hilo, Hawaii, and moving west-northwest near 20 mph.
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