HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC):

Bermudians are keeping a wary eye on Bertha, the first hurricane of the Atlantic season, as it headed in the general direction of the island Monday.

Hurricane experts said it was too early to tell if Bertha, a Category Three storm packing top winds of 115mph (185kph) on Monday, would hit any land.

A Bermuda Weather Service map showed Bertha is likely to pass close to the east of the island over the coming weekend. It said Bertha was being closely monitored.

Up to 5 p.m. yesterday, the centre of the storm was located about 730 miles (east-northeast of the Northern Leeward Islands and about 1,150 miles (1,850 kilometres) southeast of Bermuda.

Forecasters say the storm was moving west-northwest at about 12mph (19kph).