Bermuda on tropical storm watch as Cat 4 Franklin builds

Bermuda is on a tropical storm watch as Hurricane Franklin is expected to brush by the island on Wednesday.

The category 4 storm is currently packing 140mph winds gusting to 172 mph and is 364 miles west-southwest of Bermuda, moving north at 9mph.

Its closest point of approach is forecast to be tomorrow at 1pm Atlantic Summer time when it will be 186 miles to the west of Bermuda. Bermuda is expected to experience sustained winds of up to 34mph, with gusts to 50mph.

Showers and thunderstorms are expected along with swells and rip currents, with seas outside Bermuda’s reefs expected to be 9 to 16 feet, according to the Bermuda Weather Service.

After passing Bermuda, Franklin is expected to move northeast into the Atlantic and is not expected to make landfall before dissipating in the north Atlantic.

On Friday, the Bermuda government urged residents to monitor the storm but said it did not expect any disruption to normal services. IT has not released a further update.