Hurricane Bill still growing

Hurricane Bill headed west-northwest over the open Atlantic yesterday on a path towards Bermuda that would likely keep it clear of the US East Coast but could spell trouble for Canada's Maritime Provinces.

Bill's top winds grew to 170 kilometres per hour and the Category 2 storm was expected to become a "major" Category 3 hurricane in the near future, the US National Hurricane Center said.

The Atlantic season's first hurricane posed no threat to the US Gulf of Mexico oil-producing area, but its curving path was expected to take it just west of Bermuda, a mid-Atlantic British territory and reinsurance capital, by Saturday.

Hurricane expert Jeff Masters, founder of the Weather Underground website, said he expected Bill to move between Bermuda and the US East Coast towards Canada's Maritime Provinces.

"I think the likely main impact (on the US coast) is going to be beach erosion and coastal waves," he said. "Direct impacts are unlikely."

Bill will encounter energy-sapping cool water when it reaches the latitude of North Carolina but could still be a Category 1 hurricane near Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, Masters said.