This image provided by NOAA Wednesday Oct. 15, 2014 shows Hurricane Gonzalo, lower right, which forecasters said could become a powerful category 4 storm Wednesday as it heads toward Bermuda.The Associated Press
Hurricane Gonzalo grew into a major storm that threatens Bermuda first and eventually Newfoundland.
With top winds of 185 kilometres per hour, Gonzalo was about 770 miles south of Bermuda as of 5 p.m. East Coast time. It is a Category 3 system on the five-step Saffir- Simpson scale and may reach Category 4 strength Thursday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
Environment Canada is also tracking Gonzalo's northerly track because it has the potential to hit Newfoundland early next week.
"I think it has a good shot at Category 4," said Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "It would be the first in the Atlantic since 2011. I don't think there is anything out there to slow it down."
Gonzalo is following a path similar to Tropical Storm Fay, which swept across Bermuda earlier this week, clogging roads with debris and knocking out power to about 27,000 homes. If Gonzalo maintains its power as it moves north, it will be capable of inflicting much greater damage.
"Hurricane Gonzalo has been upgraded to a threat to Bermuda," the Bermuda Weather Service in a statement. "Conditions will begin to deteriorate overnight Thursday and preparations should be made in advance of these increasing winds."
Seas may reach as high as 30 feet and winds as strong as 74 mph by Oct. 17, the weather service said.