Hurricane Cristobal Heads for Bermuda

Hurricane Cristobal churned slowly toward Bermuda on Tuesday after dumping rain on the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. forecasters said.

The storm was due to pass west and north of Bermuda on Wednesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Cristobal was packing maximum sustained winds of 75 miles (120 kilometer) per hour as it whirled some 655 miles southwest of Bermuda.

A turn to the northeast with a gradual increase in forward speed is forecast to occur over the next 48 hours, an NHC bulletin said.

A tropical storm watch was in effect for Bermuda.

Meanwhile, Hurricane Marie was pounding heavy waves into Mexico's Pacific coast, where three fishermen went missing after their boat capsized.

An estimated 10,000 families were affected by the storm as it flooded homes, damaged roads and caused rivers to overflow their banks.

The storm weakened to a category three hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale late Monday.

No coastal watches or warnings were in effect.