Fay slams Bermuda, becomes hurricane as it moves away; Gonzalo takes aims at Caribbean

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Fay toppled utility poles and knocked out power to thousands of people in Bermuda before moving out over open ocean and strengthening into a hurricane.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said Sunday that Fay was not expected to maintain its hurricane status for long. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (121 kph), just above the threshold for a hurricane.

Farther south, a new storm is racing toward the eastern rim of the Caribbean, threatening to become a hurricane. Tropical Storm Gonzalo has winds of 45 mph (72 kph) and is moving toward Puerto Rico.

After tracking across the U.S. Caribbean territory of about 3.6 million people, forecasters expect Gonzalo to curve over the open Atlantic and stay away from the U.S. East Coast.