Hurricane Katia weakens to a Category 1 storm

By Associated Press

Sep 7, 2011 4:57 AM CDT

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This NOAA satellite image taken Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 1:45 a.m,. EDT shows Hurricane Katia about 315 miles SSW of Bermuda. Farther west, Post Tropical Cyclone Lee is over the Ohio Valley, with its cold front extending southwestward across the Florida Peninsula and eastern Gulf of Mexico. A... (Associated Press)

Hurricane Katia weakened to a Category 1 storm in the Atlantic early Wednesday and was expected to pass between the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda over Wednesday night and Thursday.

The storm's maximum sustained winds decreased to 90 mph (150 kph). Additional weakening was expected Thursday.

Though Katia wasn't expected to hit land, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said large swells could affect the East Coast, Bermuda, the Greater Antilles and parts of the Bahamas over the next few days. A tropical storm watch was in effect for Bermuda.

Early Wednesday, Katia was centered about 310 miles (500 kilometers) southwest of Bermuda and moving northwest near 10 mph (17 kph).

Meanwhile, the hurricane center said a tropical depression farther out in the Atlantic was expected to become a tropical storm later in the day. The depression had maximum sustained winds near 35 mph (55 kph). It was centered about 1,100 miles (1,770 kilometers) west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands and moving west near 20 mph (32 kph). It could pass over or near Puerto Rico by Sunday.