Noel strengthens into hurricane near Bermuda

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Noel strengthened into a hurricane in the Atlantic on Thursday as it moved away from the Bahamas toward Bermuda, U.S. forecasters said.

The center of Noel, whose torrential rains killed more than 100 people in the Caribbean, was located about 810 miles west-southwest of Bermuda by 8 p.m. EDT and its maximum sustained winds had reached near 75 miles per hour (120 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Noel is now a Category 1 hurricane, the lowest level on the Saffir/Simpson scale.