Tropical Storm Bertha in open Atlantic

MIAMI, July 17 (UPI) -- Tropical Storm Bertha raced eastward late Thursday in the open Atlantic, hundreds of miles from the nearest land.

At 11 p.m. EDT, the center of the formerly hurricane-force storm was 555 miles east-northeast of Bermuda and 895 miles south of Cape Race, Newfoundland, the National Hurricane Center in Miami reported. Bertha was moving east at 17 mph and was expected to turn northward and pick up speed Friday.

Bertha had sustained winds of almost 60 mph with higher gusts. Forecasters said it was likely to become somewhat weaker in the next 24 hours. Tropical storm force winds extended up to 140 miles from the storm center.

Bertha passed close to Bermuda's east coast Monday as a tropical storm and drenched the rain-deprived island. Power failures, minor flooding and downed trees were reported but there was no report of injuries.

The storm was for a while the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic season.