Hurricane Nicole passed over Bermuda on Thursday and moved out to sea, CNN meteorologists said.
The storm hit Bermuda with plenty of wind and rain but never officially made landfall, said CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward.
“Bermuda did get into the eye,” he explained, “but when it involves an island, the center of the eye must go over the island.”
At 8 p.m. ET, Category 2 Nicole was about 180 miles northeast of Bermuda and moving away at 21 mph in a northeasterly direction, the National Hurricane Center reported. It had maximum sustained winds of about 110 mph.
The storm is not expected to threaten the United States. “Gradual weakening is forecast during the next couple of days,” the hurricane center said.
Earlier in the day, Bobbi Singh tweeted that few people could be seen on the streets of the capital. “Downtown Hamilton #Bermuda. Ghost town as incredibly dangerous #HurricaneNicole approaches,” she said.
Nicole attained Category 4 status Wednesday night on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, the center said, but lost wind strength Thursday.
A storm surge was expected to raise water levels by 6 to 8 feet above normal tides, and 5 to 8 inches of rain are expected to fall over the island through Thursday evening, the hurricane center said.
Nick Warren of Boston and his wife, Nicole, told CNN they were spending the week at Tucker’s Point 5 resort when the storm hit.
He said the weather changed from fierce storm to calm in a matter of about 15 minutes, apparently when the eye of the storm passed over, then picked up again.