within 250-nautical miles of Bermuda as it continued on its north-northeast track towards Nova Scotia and the north Atlantic.

Downgraded to a category two hurricane, Hortense nevertheless remained a force to be reckoned with. Tropical storm-force winds and rains radiated 225 miles outward from the eye of the storm, raking the Island with 35 to 40-knot winds overnight.

Meteorologist Trudy Wohlleben said peak wind gusts of 43 knots were measured at the weather station last night while the Airport's control tower recorded a squall barrelling through at 50 knots.

And Harbour Radio reported 15-foot swells outside the reef up to 15 feet, she said.

Winds are expected to diminish gradually today as Hortense moves off.

At Press time Hortense was at 323 degrees north, 69.9 degrees west travelling at 20 knots, but forecasters expect it to weaken over colder water as it heads north.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami said there was a slight chance Hortense could threaten Long Island N.Y. Rhode Island, or Cape Cod Mass., but most likely it will brush past the southern Nova Scotia coast before heading north to open ocean.