RICHMOND, Va. — The center of Hurricane Nicole passed over part of Bermuda just before Noon (EDT) Thursday. Sustained winds were 120 mph, which is a category three hurricane.
Here is a satellite & radar image from 11:45 a.m. EDT. The red ring represents a 100 km range from the island, not the center. The center of Nicole is indicated by the dark gray circle.
Local observations from the Bermuda airport show the effects of the eye moving over the island:
9:55 am EDT — Easterly wind at 77 mph, gust 103 mph
11:09 am EDT — Northerly wind at 14 mph
Don Dahler, from CBS News, reported live from Bermuda on Thursday morning: http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/hurricane-nicole-takes-direct-aim-at-bermuda/ He mentions that Bermuda was spared from the full brunt of the storm surge thanks to the reef protecting the island.
Nicole was a category four hurricane on Wednesday before the winds dropped slightly. No category four hurricane has ever struck Bermuda, according to records back to 1899.
Nicole will continue tracking northeast of the island. It will weaken by early next week as it travels into the northern Atlantic Ocean.