MIAMI: Hurricane Danielle weakened to a Category 3 storm on Saturday, as the season`s first major hurricane churned over the open Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. National Hurricane Centre said.

Danielle, located some 345 miles (560 km) southeast of Bermuda, had top sustained winds of 120 miles (195 km) per hour, the Miami-based hurricane centre said.

Category 3 storms have the potential to cause devastating damage but Danielle is still far off at sea and is expected to pass well east of Bermuda, the closest land to its path, on Saturday night.

Computer models show Danielle tracking northwest and the Hurricane Centre said it was expected to turn northward later on Saturday before heading northeast on Saturday night and Sunday.

Strong surf is expected along parts of the U.S. seaboard but the hurricane has posed no direct threat to land or the U.S. Gulf of Mexico oil patch.

Any storm packing winds greater than 111 mph (178 kph) is classified as a Category 3 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity.

BDST: 1145 HRS, August 28, 2010