News Item on Hurricane Oscar issued by The Bahamas Department of Meteorology Forecast Office Section at 6AM, MONDAY 29TH OCTOBER 2018.

...OSCAR IS LIKELY TO STRENGTHEN...

AT 5 AM EDT, THE CENTER OF OSCAR WAS LOCATED NEAR LATITUDE 25.7°NORTH AND LONGITUDE 57.8° WEST OR ABOUT 620 MILES SOUTHEAST OF BERMUDA.

OSCAR IS MOVING TOWARD THE WEST NEAR 12 MPH. A TURN TOWARD THE NORTHWEST AT A SLOWER FORWARD SPEED IS EXPECTED LATER TODAY FOLLOWED BY A TURN TOWARD THE NORTH TONIGHT.

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS HAVE INCREASED TO NEAR 80 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. ADDITIONAL STRENGTHENING IS FORECAST THROUGH TUESDAY, FOLLOWED BY GRADUAL WEAKENING.

THE NEXT NEWS ITEM WILL BE ISSUED AT NOON.

PREPARED BY DUTY FORECASTER: PATRICIA WEEKS