At 1500 GMT the center of Otto was some 1,600 kilometers (1,000 miles) east of Miami and 715 kilometers (445 miles) south of Bermuda, the National Hurricane Center said.

The storm was moving away from land towards the northeast into the open Atlantic at at around 28 kilometers (17 miles) per hour.

Otto was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers (75 miles) an hour, making it a category one hurricane on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale, the Miami-based NHC said.

"Some additional strengthening is expected," the NHC said, "with weakening expected to begin by late Saturday."

Although there are no coastal watches or warnings in effect, the Hurricane Center warned of heavy rain in the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and the eastern Dominican Republic.

"These rains could produce life-threatening flash-floods and mud slides," they warned.

del.icio.us	Digg	Reddit
YahooMyWeb	Google	Facebook