Lisa is moving toward the north near 7 km/h and this general motion is expected to continue during the next 24 hours. A turn toward the north-northwest with a slight decrease in forward speed is forecast on Wednesday, followed by a turn toward the west-northwest on Thursday.

Maximum sustained winds are near 65 km/h, with higher gusts. Some additional strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days.

As of 4 p.m. today, Karl had sustained winds of 90 mph, making it a Category 1 storm.

However, it was still strong enough to pack a punch. According to CNN, 3,000 families have so far reported damage to their homes, and that number is expected to go up sharply.

In Veracruz, waves as high as 16 feet slammed into the coast as the storm hit. Widespread tree damage, downed power lines and traffic signals, and widespread flooding have been reported.
 
Karl has already forced Mexico’s Pemex oil to halt production at 14 offshore wells and evacuate staff.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Igor now in the east has weakened slightly, but remains a major storm.

The US-based hurricane centre has warned that Igor, which is pushing sustained speeds of 125 miles per hour is threatening to pass directly over Bermuda on Sunday.

Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and The Bahamas are also likely to feel the effects of storm swells with the US East Coast expected to be affected by the weekend.

Even though Igor is more than 800 miles away, a small craft warning was issued in Bermuda on Thursday morning, with southeasterly swells building and seas increasing inside the reef two to three feet.

Government has said Bermuda has not seen a hurricane as severe as Igor since Hurricane Fabian, while NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) has called it “a monstrous storm” and the Bermuda Weather Service has said people should prepare for a “virtual direct hit”. On September 4, 2003 Fabian hit Bermuda directly, sweeping four people to their deaths as they tried to cross the Causeway, a low-lying bridge linking the east end, including the international airport, to the rest of the island, and causing millions of dollars worth of damage.

 A number of hotels were forced to close for several months.

 At 6 a.m. local time, Igor was 830 nautical miles southeast of Bermuda and was classified as a Category 4 storm, packing sustained winds of 145 miles per hour. It was moving west-northwest at six knots.

Although the hurricane is expected to weaken slightly before it reaches the Bermuda area over the weekend, it is still projected to be a Category 2 storm packing winds of 110 mph. Virtually all projections have the hurricane passing close to or over Bermuda.

The island’s Emergency Measures Organisation met on Wednesday and urged residents to prepare for a serious hit. A spokeswoman said: “The island can expect tropical storm force winds sometime around midnight Saturday and even worse conditions late Sunday around midnight when the current forecast is for a direct hit.

 “Residents are advised to take the warnings seriously as the island has not experienced such an intense storm since Hurricane Fabian hit Bermuda in 2003.” Bermuda Weather Service meteorologist Ken Smith said Bermuda should be prepared for a “virtually a direct hit”, although he added that there was no way to predict if the eye of the storm would pass over the Island at the moment.

Home Affairs Minister David Burch told residents: “You should be getting prepared now,  if you wait until Saturday evening, it will be too late.” Premier Ewart Brown has cancelled a planned trip to the United States to sign an agreement between government and Howard University for psychiatric services on the island. “Our government is monitoring Hurricane Igor closely and intends to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of our people,” he said.

Igor grew from a tropical storm to a hurricane on Saturday night and swelled from category 2 to category 4 in three hours yesterday.

The Hurricane Centre says Igor is forecast to further strengthen during the next 48 hours.

While the forecasters say it’s too early to make any definitive predictions about Hurricane Igor’s path, they say it could cross the northern Caribbean, possibly heading toward Bermuda.

Igor has become the fourth hurricane of the 2010 Atlantic season, following Alex, Danielle and Earl.

Hurricane Earl travelled up the east coast of the US and Canada earlier this month, toppling trees and power lines and causing minor flooding.

 Fiona, packing maximum sustained winds of 50 miles per hour (85 kilometres per hour), is expected to pass around 20 miles to the northwest of the island early on Saturday, bringing squally showers, the Bermuda Weather Service (BWS) said.

 At 3.00pm local time, Fiona was around 450 miles south of Bermuda, moving north-northwest.

Tropical storm conditions are expected on Friday evening into Saturday morning, the BWS said, adding that “a generally unsettled theme will continue into the new week as Fiona moves away northeast.”

 Slow weakening in Fiona is forecast during the next 48 hours, the National Hurricane Centre in Miami said.

Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 115 miles (185 km) from the centre, mainly to the east.

Early last month Tropical Storm Colin fizzled out as it approached the island while last week Hurricane Danielle, a powerful Category four storm, passed well to the east of the island, bringing little rain and only moderately strong winds.

 Bermuda is currently 10 inches down on rainfall for the year.

 It’s currently in the open Atlantic but is forecast to head west toward the northeast Caribbean.

 Gaston follows on the heels of Fiona which is moving away from the region and will likely veer toward Bermuda over the next several days.

 Meanwhile, a tropical storm watch has been issued for the British territory.

Before Fiona, there was Hurricane Earl which caused between $50 and $150 million in insured losses in the Virgin Islands, St Maarten, St Martin and Puerto Rico when it blew through the northeast Caribbean earlier this week.

At 4.00 pm local time, Gaston, the seventh named storm of the 2010 season, was located 1635 miles east of the Leeward Islands and the National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that while there were no coastal warnings or storm watches in effect, it was necessary for residents in those islands to monitor its progress.

Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Fiona moved over the Atlantic and all warnings for the Caribbean have been discontinued.

The center of Fiona was located 150 miles north of Anguilla and approximately 185 miles north east of St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that Fiona was 270 miles east of the Leeward Islands and had maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour.

Severeal Caribbean countries, including Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius, said a storm watch would remain in effect while a strom warning had been issued for St. Martin and St. Barthelemy.

At 5.00 local time, the center of the storm was located near latitude 16.7 north, longitude 57.7 west and is moving towards the west-northwest near 24 miles per hour.

NHC said that a turn towards the northwest with a decrease in forward speed is anticipated on Tuesday night and Wednesday and that on the forecast track, “the center of Fiona is expected to pass near or northwest of the northern Leeward Islands late tonight or early Wednesday”.

Meanwhile, the regional airline, LIAT said that its services are expected to operate as scheduled on Wednesday.

“The only exception to this resumption of service is likely to be Anguilla where the airport remains closed following the passage of Hurricane Earl,” the airline said, adding that due to the impending passage of Fiona, passengers should be aware that some disruptions and delays are likely to occur.

The Category Two storm has winds of 110 miles per hour and the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, Saint Martin, Saint Barthelemy, St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius, the British and United States Virgin islands said a hurricane warning remained in effect  for those islands.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that Earl is moving towards the west-northwest near 14 miles per hour and that a turn to the northwest is expected on Tuesday.
“On the forecast track, the center of Earl will pass near or over the northernmost Leeward Islands this morning and near the Virgin Islands this afternoon and this evening,” NHC said, adding that “additional strengthening is forecast and Earl is expected to become a major hurricane later today”.
The regional airline has already announced the cancellation of a number of its flights and the Antigua and Barbuda authorities have said that the VC Bird International Airport has been closed as the hurricane makes its way across the region.
Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer has also appealed to citizens to make use of the designated shelters on the island and “to take every necessary precaution to protect the lives of their families and property and most importantly to provide assistance to your neighbour who may be in need of help”.
In St. Kitts and Nevis, heavy winds and rain were battering the twin island federation, but weather forecasters said the conditions could continue late into Monday.
Local radio stations said there were no reports of injuries and officials with the National Emergency Management Agency were urging residents to stay indoors.
In Montserrat, disaster management officials were assessing the impact of the hurricane.
Preliminary reports sare that a number of raods were blocked by flood waters and debris but there were no reports of injuries.

Some residents remained without electricity service as the Montserrat Utilities Limited checked the impact on its network.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said that the storm was now located latitude 15.7 north, longitude 43.6 west or about 1,300 miles of the Northern Leeward Islands.

It could become the third hurricane of the 2010 season, following Hurricane Danielle, a Category Four Storm that was 480 miles south east of Bermuda on Friday.

The NHC said that while there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect for Earl, residents in the Northern Leeward Islands should monitor its progress.

“Earl is movingtowards the west near 17 miles per hour. This general motion is expected to continue through Sunday. Maximum sustained winds remain near 45 miles per hour with high gusts. Earl could become a hurricane by Sunday,” NHC said.

Regarding Hurricane Danielle, the NHC said that it is expected to pass well to the east of Bermuda by Saturday night.