Residents can breathe a sigh of relief following the cancellation last night of a gale warning that was in effect all day yesterday.

However, a small craft warning remains in place until 4 a.m. tomorrow as enclosed waters are expected to be choppy and seas outside the reef as high as 14 to 17 feet.

The rough seas and stormy weather off Bermuda have caused the delay of three container ships due in today: the Somers Isles , Oleander and Bold Venture , which serves the US base.

Airline schedules, however, should be back to normal today, an Airport spokesman said.

Meanwhile, US NAS forecasters yesterday advised residents to get out extra blankets and heaters as chilly north winds are expected to send temperatures dipping.

A low of 57 degrees -- 45 degrees taking into account the wind-chill factor -- is predicted for Wednesday.

Gale-force winds were expected to hit the Island again today, which would have left residents little time to recover from the havoc caused by the weekend's storm.

But US NAS forecasters said winds today would now only reach between 10 and 20 knots, increasing to 30 to 35 knots by 8 p.m.

The high winds are being caused by the withdrawal of the low-pressure system that caused the storm on the weekend.