Hurricane Bill Storm/Tropical Storms and Hurricane (with more Photos)

Hurricane Bill Storm/Tropical Storms and Hurricane (with more Photos). In this satellite image released Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009, by NASA, Hurricane Bill is seen in the Atlantic ocean.

Hurricane Bill became a dangerous Category 4 storm with top sustained winds near 135 mph early Wednesday, Aug. 19, 2009 and forecasters said it could get even stronger as it howls over the open Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center said people in the Leeward Islands should monitor Bill's progress, though the core of the storm was expected to pass well to the northeast of the islands late Wednesday and early Thursday.

Hurricane Bill moving through the Atlantic Ocean in a satellite image taken August 18, 2009. REUTERS/NOAA/Handout

Hurricane Bill is pictured moving through the Atlantic Ocean, more than 1,160 miles (1,870 km) east of the Lesser Antilles islands of the Caribbean, in this satellite image taken on August 17, 2009. REUTERS/NOAA/Handout

A NASA satellite image shows tropical depression Claudette in the Gulf of Mexico(Upper Left of Center), tropical depression Ana and Hurricane Bill (R-mid Atlantic). Hurricane Bill, the first of the Atlantic storm season, reached Category 2 strength, with top winds whizzing at about 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour), US forecasters said. (AFP/NASA Goes Project/Ho)

NOAA satellite image shows Hurricane Bill. The first hurricane of the Atlantic storm season, Bill, strengthened Monday as it churned toward the US mainland, while another sizeable storm lost punch at landfall in Florida, weather officials said. (AFP/NOAA)

This August 16 NOAA satellite image shows Tropical Storms Ana (centre) and Bill (right). The first hurricane of the Atlantic storm season, Bill, strengthened as it churned toward the US mainland, while another sizeable storm, Claudette, lost punch at landfall, weather officials said.(AFP/NOAA)

This image provided by NOAA taken at 11 p.m. EDT Saturday Aug. 8, 2009 shows Hurricane Felicia about 760 miles east of Hilo Hawaii. Felicia is moving toward the west at 15 mph with maximun sustained winds near 85 mph and is expected to contiinue for the next couple of days on this track according to the National Hurricane Center. Felicia is a Category 1 hurricane. Several beach parks on Hawaii's Big Island will be closed beginning Sunday afternoon because of Hurricane Felicia, which is expected to increase wave heights as it approaches land, Hawaii County Civil Defense Agency officials said Saturday. (AP Photo/NOAA)

This image provided by NOAA taken at 11 p.m. EDT Friday Aug. 7, 2009 shows Hurricane Felicia. Felicia remains a Category 2 storm far out in the Pacific and is expected to weaken as it gets closer to Hawaii. The National Hurricane Center said Felicia's maximum sustained winds strengthened slightly to near 105 mph Friday evening. (AP photo/NOAA)

This image provided by NOAA shows Hurricane Felicia, lower left, taken at 11:45 p.m. EDT Wednesday Aug. 5, 2009. Felicia is continuing to gain strength far out in the Pacific. The National Hurricane Center says Felicia's maximum sustained winds have increased to near 140 mph, making it a Category 4 storm and a major hurricane. (AP Photo/NOAA)

This NOAA satellite image shows Hurricane Ike in 2008. Weather experts on Wednesday reduced the number of projected hurricanes in the north Atlantic this season to four, two of them major hurricanes with winds above 178 kilometers (111 miles) per hour. (AFP/NOAA/File)