currently a Category 3 storm, is expected to grow in size as it moves northwards in the western Atlantic Ocean. While it is not forecast to make landfall, it is predicted to bring life-threatening currents and waves to the Bahamas, Bermuda, the US East Coast and Canada's Atlantic coast. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeast Bahamas, while on the Outer Banks, a string of islands off the North Carolina coast, a storm surge watch has been declared.

The centre of the storm is predicted to pass to the east of the Bahamas on Tuesday, according to the US-based National Hurricane Center. On Wednesday and Thursday, it is forecast to move north between Bermuda and the US East Coast. The Outer Banks are already bracing for heavy surf and high winds. The authorities there have ordered a mandatory evacuation of the islands of Hatteras and Ocracoke, warning that the main highway linking them to other islands could become impassable. (BBC)