Hurricane Ernesto, which made landfall on the tiny British Atlantic territory of Bermuda early Saturday, brought heavy rains and strong winds before moving away from the area.
The storm forced residents to stay indoors and more than 26,000 people were without power, officials said.
The system that had been Category 2 on approach dropped in intensity bringing sustained winds of 85 mph and gusts of more than 100 mph as it moved over land at 4:30 a.m., the NHC said.
As of 8 p.m. the hurricane remained Category 1 with 75 mph sustained winds located 100 miles north-northeast of Bermuda and moving north-northeast at 6 mph.