Hurricane Michael passed less than 200 nautical miles to the northwest of the Island around 6 p.m. yesterday, packing top sustained winds of 75 knots, with gusts to 90 knots.

Hurricane force winds extended 25 miles from the centre and tropical storm force winds another 140 miles beyond the centre.

This meant local weather conditions were not adversely affected by the storm, with the biggest impact coming from increased surf.

The storm picked up speed as it got closer to the Island and was moving at 15 knots to the north-northeast when it passed by yesterday.

Michael was the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30th.

The National Hurricane Centre in Miami predicted there would be 13 named storms this year, a prediction thus far borne out with Michael.

Forecasters have said it is difficult to tell if any more storms will develop this season. In an average year, there are 10 named storms of which six are hurricanes and two are major hurricanes.