raged across the Atlantic at the same time.

The Associated Press reported the historical benchmark was reached on Friday after Tropical Storm Karl matured and joined Hurricanes Georges, Ivan and Jeanne for battling space on the crowded ocean.

Georges clearly emerged as the powerhouse of the quartet. The hurricane has reportedly caused some 300 deaths in the Caribbean and untold property damage.

And Karl and Ivan briefly formed a storm tag-team as they spun around each other in a weather phenomenon known as the "Fujiwhara Effect''.

Fortunately, the unusually frenzied period was short lived.

James Buxton of the Bermuda Weather Service said Ivan's time in the major leagues was over.

"Ivan has been discontinued as a hurricane by now,'' he explained yesterday.

"It was downgraded (on Saturday evening) to a tropical storm, and was forecast to become a low pressure system.'' None of the remaining three hurricanes are a threat to Bermuda.

As of 6 p.m. yesterday, Georges was 1,265 nautical miles west of the Island and packing gusts up to 115 knots. However, the eleven-day-old hurricane is expected to weaken quickly after making landfall in the southeastern US.

And Karl and Jeanne -- each with gusts up to 85 knots -- are also scheduled to dwindle within the next 72 hours.

Jeanne passed her closest point of approach last night at 9 p.m. some 1,257 nautical miles east of the Island. Karl was 1,341 nautical miles east-northeast at 6 p.m.

Mr. Buxton said he was unsure when four hurricanes were last identified in the Atlantic at the same time, but admitted it was "pretty rare''.

"Basically it's one of those chance occurrences,'' he said.