Hurricane Isaac is due to pass the Island 439 miles south-southeast at 3 p.m.

today.

Forecasters are confident the hurricane, which will have sustained winds of 135 mph gusting to 155 mph, will miss Bermuda, although the Island will be lashed with rain.

At 6 p.m. last night, Isaac was classified a category four storm, the second highest hurricane category.

Bermuda Weather Service forecaster James Morrison said last night that the National Hurricane Center in Miami is predicting Isaac will decrease during tomorrow.

He said: "Right now we are in agreement with the National Hurricane Center that it has started to take a more northwesterly track.

"We'll probably see a rain band near the Island but it should stay outwith the 400 miles. This is fairly certain due to a lot of upper air features, but you can never say for certain.

"It is a category four storm. It is a quite strong hurricane, but it is not large, it's quite compact.'' And cruise ship Norwegian Majesty was due to leave four hours early today because of inclement weather. Capt. John Moore of Meyer Travel, the cruise ship's agency, said the ship was departing because of high swells.

"It's just to get four hours in the pocket,'' he said.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Joyce is scheduled to pass the Island 1213 miles south-southeast at 3 p.m. on Sunday.

Joyce, a category one storm, was 1690 miles south east of Bermuda at 6 p.m.

last night.