After gaining some strength back, Hurricane Bertha is heading towards the Bermuda prompting local authorities to issue a tropical storm watch.

Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center said they could not say how close Bertha's strong winds would come to well-known Atlantic island. At 5 a.m. Friday, the currently Category 1 hurricane was about 350 miles (565 kilometers) south-southeast of Bermuda and was heading northwest at near 7 mph (11 kph). Fortunately, Bertha’s maximum sustained winds had decreased slightly to about 85 mph (140 kph).

Forecasters estimated that Hurricane Bertha will slow down on its current path and eventually turn north and northeast in the next two days. However, on its current track, Bertha will approach Bermuda on Friday and Saturday. At the moment, large swells and high surf are affecting Bermuda and these conditions will most likely continue over the next days.

Bertha’s strength has fluctuated. It reached its peak on Monday when it was a Category 3 hurricane with top winds of 120 mph (193 kph). However, its wind intensity dropped o 75 mph (120 kph) and then picked up some strength again to reach Category 2 intensity late Wednesday.

Bertha formed July 3 off Africa near the southern Cape Verde Islands.