MIAMI, July 13, 2008 (AFP) - Hurricane Bertha weakened to a tropical storm on Sunday as it lost steam near the British Atlantic islands of Bermuda, the US National Hurricane Center said. The winds of the first hurricane of the 2008 season slowed down to 70 miles (113 kilometers) per hour, the Miami-based center said. Tropical Storm Bertha was in a near stationary position about 220 miles (355 kilometers) southeast of Bermuda, the center said in an 8 am (1200 GMT) bulletin. The storm is expected to drift toward the northwest later Sunday. Bertha's center could slowly pass not far from the southeast and east of Bermuda during the next couple of days, the center said.
bur-lt/