Tropical Storm Nate is slowly drifting as Hurricane Maria weakens

The Associated Press
Posted September 6, 2005, 7:14 AM EDT

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/orl-bk-nate-090605,0,7102826.story?coll=orl-news-headlines

MIAMI -- Tropical Storm Nate slowly drifted south of Bermuda early today, while Hurricane Maria weakened on its way to the colder waters of the north Atlantic, forecasters said.

Nate, the 14th named storm of the season, was centered about 275 miles south-southwest of Bermuda with top sustained winds near 45 mph. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said it could reach hurricane strength, with winds of at least 74 mph, by Wednesday.

It was meandering west near 2 mph, though it was expected to eventually make a turn to the northeast, forecasters said.

"Perhaps by the end of the work week it could be posing a threat to Bermuda, but not the U.S.," hurricane specialist Stacy Stewart said.