Hurricane Bill Update 06:30 AM EDT Thursday August 20

Hurricane Bill Update 06:30 AM EDT Thursday August 20, 2009

Hurricane Bill has weakened very slightly to a major Category 3 storm. The Atlantic High Pressure area has continued to move Bill in a northwesterly direction. The track is expected to move more northerly within 24 to 36 hours as it approaches Bermuda Friday into Saturday. Persons along the east coast of the US from the Georgia/South Carolina border to New England can expect to see higher than normal surf and tides over the next week or so along with some beach erosion and dangerous rip currents. While Bill will not be directly affecting residents along the Gulf of Mexico, anyone traveling to the East Coast should be aware of the possible coastal tide and surf conditions.

Persons visiting or vacationing in Bermuda are leaving on commercial flights and local residents are preparing for the storm at this hour.

We will update our unofficial information as conditions warrant.

Please use this NOAA – NHC link for official advisories:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

==================================================

“THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL ADVISORY. These updates and advisories are based upon information from our own computer models, NOAA, Local Weather Data Centers, deep water Buoy Data, and other publicly available sources. FOR THE SAFETY OF YOUR PROPERTY AND PERSON, please refer to your Local, State, and Federal Authority updates for Official Advisories and Orders. For up to the minute advisories and official updates, it is essential that you monitor your local Emergency Government, NOAA and Local Media Broadcasts. Please do not make personal safety decisions based upon information presented here in this Unofficial Advisory.”

==================================================