MIAMI, July 12 (Reuters) - The first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic storm season stalled on Saturday near Bermuda, not close enough to bring significant winds to the British colony but close enough to kick up the surf.
By 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), the core of Hurricane Bertha was located around 220 miles (360 km) south-southeast of Bermuda, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.
"Bertha has been nearly stationary during the past few hours. However, a north-northwest to northwest track near 5 miles per hour (7 km per hour) should begin later..." the Miami-based hurricane center said.
"The center of Bertha is expected to slowly pass to the southeast and east of Bermuda, but the motion could occasionally be erratic."
A tropical storm watch was issued on Friday for Bermuda, a wealthy offshore financial center and tourist resort that has tough building codes and whose 66,000 people are considered among the most storm-conscious in the region.
Storm watches mean tropical storm force winds could begin to affect an area within 36 hours. A tropical storm warning, meaning the storm conditions are more imminent, would likely be issued later on Saturday, the hurricane center said.
Bertha formed early in the hurricane season near the coast of Africa, giving some credibility to predictions that this year would be quite busy for storms. Hurricane activity does not usually get into high gear in the Atlantic until August.
An average Atlantic storm season, which begins on June 1 and runs to the end of November, has around 10 tropical storms, of which six reach hurricane strength with winds in excess of 74 mph (119 kph). The record-busting 2005 season, which included Hurricane Katrina, spawned 28 storms.
Computer models used to predict storm tracks indicated Hurricane Bertha was most likely to pass a distance to the east of Bermuda, but there remained considerable uncertainty about the forecast.
"It is possible that Bertha could come close enough to Bermuda within the next couple of days to bring winds of tropical storm force to that island and adjacent waters," the hurricane center wrote in an advisory.
Bertha's top sustained winds held steady at 90 mph (150 kph), making the storm a minimal Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity. Little change in strength was expected.
(Reporting by Michael Christie, Editing by Vicki Allen)