This NOAA image shows Hurricane Bill, the first of the 2009 hurricane season, as it moves west-northwest near 22 MPH through the Atlantic Ocean, August 17, 2009. UPI/NOAA Published: Aug. 17, 2009 at 12:50 PM
MIAMI, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- Hurricane Bill picked up strength Monday, maintaining its west-northwesterly move across the Atlantic Ocean, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
At midday, Bill's center was about 1,080 miles east of the Lesser Antilles.
Bill, the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season's first hurricane, was expected to keep on its west-northwesterly track for the next few days. The center said Bill was expected to strengthen during the next 48 hours, and could become a major hurricane by Wednesday.
The maximum sustained winds are nearly 90 mph with higher gusts.
Hurricane-force winds extended up to 30 miles outward from Bill's center. Tropical storm-force winds extended up to 145 miles.
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