establish if Hurricane Gert will track toward the Island.

Currently, Category Four Gert is 1,100 nautical miles south east of Bermuda and its closest point of approach in the next 72 hours is 565 miles south/southeast at 3 p.m. on Saturday.

But Bermuda Weather Service meteorologist Mark Guishard said the period up until 6 p.m. today could determine what route the storm, which has 130 knot winds, takes.

"At some point during that period we will probably have a good idea whether or not it will become a potential threat to the Island,'' he said.

Depending on its path, Bermuda is likely to experience unsettled conditions over the weekend and into next week.

Gert is an intense storm, but is not as large as Floyd. Its hurricane force winds extend to 40 nautical miles from the centre.

"Gert has been fairly strong for quite a while, hurricanes do not normally keep that intensity for such long periods,'' said Mr. Guishard.

At present it is moving west at 11 knots, but because of a hurricane's erratic nature, forecasters cannot predict beyond 72 hours.

Meanwhile, two areas of disturbed weather, to the northeast and southeast, are not expected to cause any problems for Bermuda.

And forecasters are still keeping an eye on Hurricane Floyd, which is expected to pass at its closest point to Bermuda this evening.

At 10 p.m. they predict Floyd will be 634 nautical miles to the west/north-west as it progresses along the Carolina coast, with winds of 70 knots.

But there is a possibility it could re-curve out into the Atlantic and pass to the north of the Island in a much weakened state.

Satellite picture: Page 3