This is a News Item on Hurricane Gert issued by The Bahamas Department of Meteorology Forecast Office, at NOON Tuesday,15TH AUGUST, 2017.

… GERT BEGINS ITS TURN TOWARD THE NORTHEAST ...

AT 11 AM EDT, THE CENTER OF HURRICANE GERT WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 32.8° NORTH AND LONGITUDE 72.0° WEST OR ABOUT 420 MILES WEST OF BERMUDA.

HURRICANE GERT IS MOVING TOWARD THE NORTH-NORTHEAST NEAR 10 MILES PER HOUR (MPH). A GRADUAL TURN TOWARD THE NORTHEAST WITH AN INCREASE IN FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED THROUGH THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS.

Maximum sustained Winds are near 75 Miles Per Hour (MPH) with higher gusts. Gert is forecast to become a little stronger during the next couple of days. The next News Item will be issued at 6PM.

PREPARED BY FORECASTER: GEOFFREY GREENE