Hurricane Bill puts Bermuda on watch

High waves and hazardous currents are crashing into island communities in the Atlantic Ocean as Hurricane Bill continues its northward track.

Flood warnings were issued for Bermuda Friday as the hurricane continued on its northwest path at around 28 km/h about 680 kilometres south of the island.

The government urged islanders to secure boats and prepare for the storm by Friday afternoon.

The Category 3 storm's maximum sustained winds weakened slightly to about 195 km/h by 5 a.m. AT (4 a.m. ET) Friday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Data suggests the storm is becoming less organized but there is still the possibility it could regain strength over the next 24 hours, the hurricane centre said.

Hurricanes are categorized on the Saffir-Simpson scale from one to five, indicating the storm's intensity at a given time.

The storm's centre is expected to pass between Bermuda and the eastern U.S. coast on Saturday.

Dangerous waves and riptides are expected for the eastern U.S. coast over the weekend, the hurricane centre said.

"Those swells are known to be deadly," said Eric Blake, a storm specialist with the centre. "It's just going to be very dangerous this weekend."

The centre's five-day track shows Bill staying in the ocean off the coast of the U.S. until it reaches the Atlantic provinces, where it may make landfall, before veering back into the north Atlantic.

"Interests along the coast of New England and in the Canadian Maritimes should monitor the progress of Bill," the U.S. hurricane centre said.

The first effects of Hurricane Bill will be felt in the coastal areas of Nova Scotia Friday with swells of up to two metres, the Canadian Hurricane Centre said in an advisory.

The eye of the hurricane is expected to pass within 150 kilometres of Halifax and over the southern edge of Cape Breton before moving toward Newfoundland.

Two other storms of the Atlantic hurricane season, Ana and Claudette, have had little effect on mainland communities.