The wind speed makes Bertha barely a Category 1 hurricane, whose threshold is 74 mph, although gusts were reported as high as 90 mph.

At 11 a.m., the system was moving west-northwest near 12 mph and forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said that was expected to continue for the next 48 hours. A slight increase in forward speed and strengthening was possible, forecasters said.

However, with a northward track sea water will become cooler, which robs tropical systems of their fuel.

Bertha's hurricane force winds extended 30 miles outward from the center, while tropical storm force winds extended 140 miles out, the report said.

A brief burst of intensity on Monday saw Bertha reach Category 3 status with sustained winds of 120 mph.