Surfers made the most of conditions as residents battled blustery weather yesterday.

Gusts were recorded of up to 61mph and seas outside the reefs were thought to be about 12ft in the afternoon with wave heights expected to increase later.

Michelle Pitcher, the Bermuda Weather Service deputy director, explained: “Peak winds occurred at the airport around noon as the leading edge of the front arrived with some heavy showers.”

She said the strongest sustained wind recorded at the airport was about 44mph.

The weather station at Pearl Island, in the Great Sound, recorded sustained wind at 51mph.

Both locations had gusts to 60mph.

Ms Pitcher said that sustained winds reached 52mph with gusts to 61mph at the Crescent Channel Marker automated weather system, north of Ireland Island.

She added that analysis from the US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s ocean prediction centre at 2pm estimated seas to be about 12ft outside the reefs.

Ms Pitcher said that she expected a later analysis to show higher figures because wave models indicated “seas reaching 15 to 20ft by evening”.

The meteorologist explained that Bermuda had 0.18 ins of rain between 7am and 2pm yesterday.

She added: “Despite the intensity of the showers when they arrive, they were moving rapidly and over in a short span of time, thus the low amount of precipitation.”

In a forecast discussion on the BWS website, Ms Pitcher said that a ridge of high pressure is to build to the southwest today, “further backing and decreasing winds as the high centre draws near”.

She explained: “Winds are mainly light to moderate first thing Tuesday morning as the centre of the high is to the near south and then winds continue to back to the southwest and increase Tuesday night.

“This is in response to the high moving away to the east as another low pressure system exits the US mid-Atlantic coast and begins to pass to the distant northwest. This, in turn, pushes a weak cold front towards our area Tuesday night.”

Ms Pitcher said that a small craft warning was expected to end tonight. But another was forecast to be in place tomorrow night “as winds become moderate to strong”.

Ms Pitcher added: “Wave models maintain moderate seas throughout Tuesday.”

Light showers were expected to arrive late tomorrow night.