of Bermuda but, unless it suddenly changes direction, forecasters do not believe it poses a threat to the Island.

At 6 p.m. yesterday the category one storm was 649 nautical miles south southeast of the Island -- more than 300 miles closer than the same time on Wednesday.

Maximum sustained winds are now reaching 80 knots with gusts of up to 95 knots. And it is believed that, by Sunday, the hurricane could be whipping up winds of up to 105 knots.

But weathermen believe Hurricane Danielle will keep tracking along its current path well to the south and miss Bermuda by at least 450 nautical miles.

Even at that distance the Island could still be affected by the storm.

Hurricane Bonnie, which passed 600 miles to the west of the Island and is now blitzing the US east coast, created 12 foot waves to crash along Bermuda's south shore coastline.

Danielle is expected to follow the same path as Bonnie, although one expert claimed that it had to be monitored closely.