Storm watch issued as hurricane nears Bermuda

HAMILTON (Reuters) - A tropical storm watch was issued for Bermuda on Friday as Hurricane Bertha, the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic storm season, neared the wealthy mid-Atlantic British colony, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Conditions in the major offshore finance center were sunny and calm on Friday and few of Bermuda's 66,000 residents appeared concerned about the storm.

While it remained unclear how close Bertha would eventually come to Bermuda, a tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions, including rough seas and storm-force winds, are possible within the next 36 hours.

"Large swells and high surf are affecting Bermuda ... and these conditions are expected to persist for the next few days, the Miami-based hurricane center said.

At 5 p.m. EDT, top sustained winds from the hurricane were blowing at 90 miles per hour (150 km per hour), making it a minimal Category 1 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity.

Bertha's center was about 270 miles southeast of Bermuda, according to the hurricane center, which said it was moving north-northwest at a slow 5 mph (7 kph).

Forecasters expected the storm to turn more to the north and make its closest approach to Bermuda, home of some of the world's biggest reinsurance companies and a major resort center, on Saturday or Sunday.

"The core of Bertha is expected to pass well east of Bermuda but any deviation to the left could bring stronger winds to the island and adjacent waters," the forecast said.

Residents of the island, which has tough building codes to ensure structures weather storms, appeared largely relaxed.

"People are buying the usual staples -- tarps, batteries," said Bermuda Chamber of Commerce President Philip Barnett. "We are watching the track of the storm, and we hope it will stay well to the east of us," he added.

To better gauge the intensity of the storm -- which surprised forecasters when it strengthened briefly into a "major" Category 3 hurricane on Monday -- an air force "hurricane hunter" airplane flew into Bertha to get a close look on Friday. Forecasters said afterward that no significant change of strength was expected.

Jahkima Kirkpatrick, sales manager for hardware store Masters Ltd, said most Bermudians seemed to have dismissed Bertha as a non-event.

"We have seen an increase in battery sales and flashlights in the past two or three days, but it's nothing like the rush we have had in the past when other hurricanes have been bearing down on us," Kirkpatrick said.

"Usually, when people feel it's a real threat, they have their houses boarded up by now, but you just don't see any of that happening this time around," he said.

"The weather's been great and it's very early in the season for us to get hit -- I think everyone is pretty skeptical that Bertha is going to have any impact at all."

But there remained enough uncertainty to justify issuing a storm watch for Bermuda, the hurricane center said.

(Additional reporting by Gareth Finighan in Hamilton, Tom Brown in Miami, Editing by Jane Sutton and Eric Walsh)