Hurricane Bill on last leg of trip to New England
Massachusetts governor says tropical-force winds to hit state around 9 p.m. ET
Storm expected to pass off New England coast Saturday night or Sunday
Riptides expected from Virginia up along the East Coast
BOSTON, Massachusetts (CNN) -- A flurry of weather watches and warnings were issued Saturday as Hurricane Bill moved northward toward the New England coast.
Heavy surf washes ashore at John Smith Bay in Bermuda on Friday.
1 of 2 At 11 a.m., the center of the storm was located 435 miles south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, and about 710 miles south-southwest of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Bill's path is expected to take it within 150 miles of Nantucket, the National Hurricane Center said.
The storm was moving slightly faster, at 23 mph, and is expected to move gradually to the north-northeast on Sunday. Bill has sustained winds of about 100 mph, with higher gusts, but will probably weaken Saturday night and Sunday.
Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick said tropical-force winds from the outer bands of the storm were forecast to hit his state at 9 p.m. ET, earlier than expected. The speed of tropical-force winds range from 39 mph to 73 mph. iReport.com: Are you bracing for Hurricane Bill?
A tropical storm warning was issued for the coast of Massachusetts from Woods Hole to Sagamore Beach, including the islands of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket.
The hurricane itself is to stay off-shore, the hurricane center said.
The storm should be most intense between midnight and the predawn hours of Sunday, the governor told reporters in a conference call.
Patrick cautioned boaters to expect high seas and to avoid the area around Cape Cod. Forecasters have warned of dangerous riptides along the New England coast and points north. iReport.com: New York City beaches closed
"Waters will be unsafe even for strong swimmers," the governor warned.
He said advisories will be posted, and beaches on the Cape were closed. He urged residents to stay home.
President Obama and his family are scheduled to arrive Sunday for a vacation at Martha's Vineyard.
"We look forward to welcoming him to Massachusetts as soon as he can safely get here," said Patrick.
Canada's weather service, Environment Canada, issued a tropical storm warning for Nova Scotia from Charlesville in Shelburne County eastward to Ecum Secum in Halifax County.
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Bill weakens to Category 2
The agency issued a hurricane watch from just east of Ecum Secum to Point Aconi, and a tropical storm watch from north of Point Aconi westward to Tidnish and from Victoria in Queen County northward to Lower Darnley in Prince County, including Prince Edward Island.
A tropical storm watch was in effect for Parsons Pond around the southwestern portion of Newfoundland to Arnolds Cove.
Bermuda remained under a tropical storm warning. The storm was dumping rain on the island and was expected to raise water levels by as much as 3 feet above ground level along the coast, the Bermuda Weather Service said.
A tropical storm warning means tropical storm conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area within 24 hours.
"Interests elsewhere along the coast of New England and in the remainder of the Canadian Maritimes should monitor the progress of Bill," the hurricane center advised.
The core of the storm is expected to pass New England off-shore Saturday night, and approach Nova Scotia on Sunday.
Rip currents, or riptides, are strong seaward flows of water that happen where there's a break in the shoreline. They are capable of pulling even strong swimmers out to sea, and they are difficult to detect. Watch CNN's Bonnie Schneider talk about rip currents »
The Virginia Beach Emergency Medical Services Department ordered red flags be flown to warn beach-goers of rough waters. And the Virginia Beach Lifesaving Service closed the oceanfront for the weekend, according to CNN affiliate WAVY-TV 10.
Still, some people still were out enjoying the water, albeit with caution.
"I think [the flying of red flags] means we should be paying attention," Erma Wicks told CNN affiliate WAVY. There is an alert in the water. But there's no problem; I'm not going in that far."
Farther north, the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency began making preparations ahead of the rough surf that was expected to hit this weekend.
RIEMA said on its Web site that it planned to staff its lifeguards at "monitoring" level this weekend.
"We have to plan for the worst and hope for the best in this situation," RIEMA Director J. David Smith told CNN affiliate WPRI.
In New York, all beaches facing the Atlantic Ocean were closed "due to heavy, high waves and particularly heavy currents," New York City Parks and Recreation Commissioner Adrian Benepe said. iReport.com: Red flags line New York City beaches
"The lifeguards have a lot of experience with these ocean beaches and they just felt it was really too difficult to keep swimmers out of danger," Benepe said.
"We're seeing very strong currents and increased wave height, waves of six to eight feet at Rockaway Beach. The normal out there is usually no more than two or three feet," he said.
