Hurricane Bill has this morning roared up to category 2 status after only officially becoming a hurricane less than 12 hours ago.  

Bill reached hurricane strength around 9pm NZT in the Central Atlantic, and is now located about 1500kms east of the Lesser Antilles. Bill has strengthened and maximum sustained winds are now at 150km/h.  There is a chance that Bill could go through rapid intensification in the next 24 to 30 hours. Bill is forecast to become a major hurricane (category three or higher) in about 36 hours.

The forecast is for Bill to move west-northwest through the open tropical Atlantic over the next few days. The current forecast track calls for Bill to miss the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico to the north. Even with Bill missing the islands to the north, rough surf and dangerous rip currents will be possible along the beaches of these islands in the coming days.

Residents and visitors of Bermuda should also monitor the progress of Hurricane Bill very closely. The hurricane has the potential to bring impacts to the island by this weekend.

There’s a good chance that rough surf may also impact the East Coast of the United States this weekend and early next week if Bill follows its current forecast path.

Tropical Depression Ana lost its circulation south of Puerto Rico and is no longer a tropical cyclone.