Hurricane Ophelia strengthened to a category two storm early Friday and was expected to bring heavy winds and rain to the Atlantic island of Bermuda, US forecasters said.
Ophelia, the fourth hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic season, was located 695 miles (1,120 kilometers) south-southeast of Bermuda, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said in its 0900 GMT advisory.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 100 miles (160 kilometers) per hour and was moving north-northwest at a speed of almost nine miles an hour.
The NHC said Bermuda would face tropical storm-force winds on Saturday when the eye of the storm passes to the east of the island, but Ophelia is expected to continue north and steer well clear of the US coastline.
Hurricane Irene, the most severe of the previous three hurricanes, unleashed deadly floods and storm surges in the eastern United States.
