Bermuda residents keep close eye on tropical storm

Bermuda residents are watching the forecast track of Tropical Storm Cindy, which is a potential threat to Bermuda.

At 6am Bermuda time, Bermuda Weather Service forecasters said Cindy's closest point of approach within 72 hours is forecast to be 785 miles to the south-southeast of the island. It added the system may move closer to Bermuda after this time period depending upon its track.

At 6am, the storm was packing winds of 47 mph gusting to 58mph and was 1,800 miles southeast of Bermuda, moving west-northwest at 15mph.

Other models which extend out further than 72 hours project that Cindy could come close to Bermuda by Wednesday or Thursday although it is not clear if the storm will be intact by then.

Hurricane modellers are uncertain about the outlook for the hurricane season as record sea surface temperatures, which would typically result in more severe storms, may be offset by the El Nino weather phenomenon, which would usually reduce the severity of storms later in the season.
In the meantime, Tropical Storm Bret is moving west into the southern Caribbean, packing winds of 60mph.