gusting to 95 knots, weather forecasters said last night.

A Bermuda's Weather Service spokesman reported last night that Hurricane Felix was still intensifying and would possibly reach the standards of a category two hurricane by tomorrow with 83 to 95 knot winds.

By Monday it is expected to be 39 nautical miles southeast of the Island and will borderline on category three -- which means winds could be between 96 and 112 knots. Hurricanes are scaled from one to five with five being the most powerful.

The Island can expect heavy rains, thunderstorms and probably a storm surge -- when the tide rises six to eight feet above the normal tide level.

But the spokesman said it was too early to predict the hurricane's exact course, and it was possible that it would change between last night and Monday.

At 6 p.m. yesterday the weather service listed Hurricane Felix as a potential threat to the Island with a position of 22.2 north 58.2 west and 700 nautical miles southeast of Bermuda. Winds were 75 knots, gusting to 90 knots.

It was heading northwest at 16 knots but was expected to curve further north because of a heavy weather trough situated between North Carolina and Bermuda.

By 3 a.m. this morning, it was expected to be at latitude 23.3 north and 59.0 west, and packing winds of 80 knots, gusting to 95.

Emergency Measures Organisation chairman Mr. Peter Willis, the Deputy Governor, said members of the EMO had been put on standby.

"At the moment I have contacted the members of EMO to put them on standby so they can be easily contacted over the weekend,'' he said. "That is all we can do right now until a further update of the hurricane's position.'' The EMO includes the Island's security forces and the Fire Service, the hospital, major government departments such as Works and Engineering, and the utility companies.

Earlier yesterday, Mr. Norman Nelson, assistant research scientist at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research, said he did not expect the storm to hit and added that there was only an 88 percent chance of the hurricane coming within 65 miles of the Island.

The Bermuda Weather Service said after leaving Bermuda, Felix is expected to take a more northerly turn but is not expected to pose a threat to the east coast of the United States.

Meanwhile to the south, Tropical Storm Gabrielle is slowly moving west and with winds of 50 to 65 knots and was expected to hit Mexico last night.

Last week, a US weather expert predicted there were still three major hurricanes to come this season. He upped his June tropical storm prediction from 12 to 16. Of these, he claimed, nine would become hurricanes.

He said an unusual combination of meteorological conditions meant that this year's hurricane season, is expected to be the busiest in three decades.

People concerned about the hurricane over the weekend can call 977-3 for recorded information.

Updates are being given every six hours.

EYE OF THE STORM -- The Bermuda Biological Station for Research Inc. yesterday provided this satellite photograph of Hurricane Felix as it moved in a northwest direction, packing winds of up to 75 knots.