Hurricane Bertha forms in the Atlantic

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Bertha has formed in the Atlantic off the U.S. East Coast but isn’t expected to be a threat to land.

The second hurricane of the Atlantic season had maximum sustained winds near 80 mph (130 kph) with little change expected in the next 24 hours. It was forecast to start weakening Tuesday.

The hurricane is centered about 230 miles (370 kilometers) northeast of Great Abaco Island and is moving north near 17 mph (28 kph).

The storm brushed the Turks and Caicos Islands and southeastern Bahamas over the weekend as a tropical storm.

The current forecast map predicts that the center of the storm will stay offshore through Thursday.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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