Hurricane Bill cycles between Category 3 and 4, may affect NE US

By DAN ROBINSON Editor/Photographer

A very well-developed and classically-structured Hurricane Bill is moving slowly northeast today in the western Atlantic:

Visible satellite of Hurricane Bill at 4:19PM EDT Thursday

Bill briefly reached Category 4 strength Wednesday, and while some weakening has occured overnight, the storm is expected to regain Cat 4 intensity. As such, Bill will affect most of the US Atlantic Coast with high surf this week. Bill is a very large storm - and so this means that over the weekend, some of the hurricane's outer bands may pass over eastern New England - including Boston and the Massachusetts Cape. The wave action alone on the rocky coasts of New England will be a sight to marvel as this occurs. While forecast models are in good agreement as to Bill's track curving away from the US coast, there is always a slim chance of a westerly shift in the storm's course that could have it making landfall in Rhode Island, Massachusetts or even New York as a major hurricane (Category 3). For this reason, even though the forecast track out to sea is fairly nailed down, Bill will remain a storm to keep an eye on.