MIAMI, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Hurricane Bill was racing toward Newfoundland Sunday night and forecasters said the storm would pick up speed Sunday night and Monday.
Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center in Miami said Bill's center would pass near or over southeastern Newfoundland Sunday night.
At 8 p.m. EDT, the Category 1 storm was 230 miles west of Cape Race, Newfoundland, and was moving toward the northeast at almost 35 mph. Top sustained winds were almost 75 mph with higher gusts and the storm was expected to weaken during the next 24 hours, forecasters said.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Nova Scotia from Ecum Secum to Brule and a tropical storm watch was posted for Brule to Malagash. A tropical storm warning was in effect for Prince Edward Island from Save Harbor to Wood Islands East and a tropical storm watch was posted from Victoria to Wood Islands East and from Savage Harbor to Lower Darnley.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Newfoundland from Burgeo eastward to around the Avalon Peninsula and northward to Fogo Island. A tropical storm watch was post from Parsons Pond to Burgeo on the West and South Coast and from Fogo Islands to Harbor Deep on the Northeast Coast.
Storm warnings were dropped for Massachusetts Sunday as the storm skirted the state and headed toward Canada. Massachusetts beaches remained closed because of riptide worries as Bill moved parallel to the U.S. East Coast.
Little rain was reported in Martha's Vineyard, in Massachusetts, where President Barack Obama and his family Sunday began a summer holiday, CNN said.
Swells along the U.S. East Coast should gradually diminish Sunday and Sunday night, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
Massachusetts reportedly breathed a sigh of relief and resumed normal life Sunday as residents realized Hurricane Bill would miss them. Doug Ricciardi, owner of the Chatham Pier Fish Market in Chatham, Mass., told CNN he would open his business as usual among boats that been parked to ride out the storm.
