The strongest winds of the year caused Police to close the Causeway to cycles, flights and ferries were cancelled and power outages were reported throughout the Island yesterday.

Meteorologist James Morrison said last night the highest gust recorded at the Bermuda Weather Service was 57 knots, however, gusts upwards of 60 knots were recorded at Harbour Radio and at stations offshore.

A low temperature of 54 degrees was recorded overnight, however, he expected wind and rain to persist for the rest of the week.

?We will see periods of windy and wet weather for the next couple of days,? Mr. Morrison said. ?We will not get any real break almost up to next weekend with quite strong winds.?

Government advised the public in a release to assess homes, securing all items that could possibly be blown away, and taking precautionary measures to ensure the safety of families and property.

At 4.30 p.m. the Bermuda Weather Service announced the Causeway was closed to two-wheel traffic throughout the night as storm force winds and widespread rain were expected to persist.

A Bermuda Police Service spokesman said the Causeway was closed due to very high gusts of winds and Police Officers have been posted at each end to enforce this decision.

Last night Airport Duty Officer Bobby Peniston said three flights landed yesterday ? American Airlines 686 from JFK Airport in New York at 12.15 p.m., a TNT charter flight from New York at 5.35 p.m. and a British Airways flight at 6 p.m. The American Airlines flight was not expected to depart until 7 a.m. today, he said.

Some ferries were cancelled yesterday afternoon and commuters were advised by Government to call the terminal on 295-4506 before setting out to work today. ?All ferry services were operating according to schedule as of 3 p.m., however, due to the increase in inclement weather and deteriorating sea conditions, Marine and Ports are expecting interruptions and possible cancellations to the ferry service over the course of the next several hours,? Government said yesterday in a release.

Harbour Radio said the cargo ship safely reached her pilot boat yesterday afternoon before heading for Hamilton.

The Bermuda Electric Light Company (Belco) reported 200 calls of isolated power outages while several circuits were off and on throughout the day.

Belco?s vice president of corporate communications Linda Wilson-Smith said yesterday a ?fairly large contingent? of Belco workers had been dispatched across the Island to deal with the outages. ?Most have occurred in the west end, when big gusts of gale force ? usually squalls ? hit the lines,? she said. A switch in the Verdmont area of Middle Road, Smith?s, went out twice, she said. A scheduled outage on Court Street was affected by an underground cable fault which went back on at 3.40 p.m.