have now turned their attention to Hurricane Dennis which could possibly take a virtual u-turn, to the northeast and then the east, putting it on a heading into the Island's vicinity.

Last night's 6 p.m. tropical update gave Hurricane Cindy's course as north by northeast and her position as 383 nautical miles away from Bermuda.

Unless she makes a dramatic course change, Cindy poses no threat.

And the weather system called Emily, which at noon on Saturday had been downgraded to a tropical depression, has dissipated into nothing.

At the moment, the only potential threat to Bermuda is Hurricane Dennis.

And although meteorologist Carol Craig said there was some disagreement about the storm's next move, at least one computer model has suggested that Dennis could head in the Island's direction.

Ms Craig said models done by both the National Hurricane Centre in Miami and the Bermuda Weather Service had conflicting predictions as to what Dennis would do next.

She said: "Indeed, some have forecast that it will simply stall off the coast of the southeastern US and possibly make landfall there. If it does, Dennis will lose a great deal of its energy.'' But the latest warning given by the Bermuda Weather Service last night indicated that Dennis is expected to make a major course change.

Ms. Craig explained what it was that decided a hurricane's course and Bermuda's motto "Quo Fata Ferunt'' (Whither the fates lead us) seemed to ring through her words.

"The path of a hurricane is dependent on a number of factors. Right now we predict that Dennis will get caught up in low pressure frontal trough that is moving off the US.'' She was reluctant to do any more than speculate on where the storm would go, however, because, as she said: "We really don't know what will happen next and I wouldn't want to be the cause of unnecessary panic.'' On the other hand, Ms. Craig stressed the importance of not being caught unprepared.

She said: "These storms are really erratic sometimes. I mean, at times they seem to defy the laws of nature.'' Asked if Hurricane Dennis had been strange in its behaviour to date, Ms Craig said that there had been storms in the past that had behaved in similar ways.

And, although Dennis may look similar to Cindy in its projected course, the meteorologist said that Cindy had been pushed away by a system called the Bermuda High, while Dennis was being influenced by a number of different factors.

Last night's tropical update put Hurricane Dennis's predicted closest point of approach at 342 nautical miles on Wednesday afternoon.

At that time, the storm is expected to be of Category three, packing winds of over 100 knots.

Ms. Craig said that if Dennis did follow its projected course, the minimal effects Bermuda would feel were southwesterly swells and a possible small craft warning.

If it does not follow the predicted path, however, there is no telling, at this point, where it will go.