At 1800 GMT Kyle was still far away from land, its center swirling about 715 kilometers (445 miles) southeast of Bermuda and traveling towards the northwest at 19 kilometers (12 miles) an hour.

The storm packed winds of 95 kilometers per hour (60 miles per hour), the Miami-based center said.

"Additional strengthening is forecast during the next 48 hours and Kyle could become a hurricane by Saturday night," the NHC warned.

"Interests in the northeastern United States and the Canadian maritime region should closely monitor the progress of Kyle during the next couple of days," the NHC said.

The Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm watch for Bermuda, though it forecast that Kyle's strongest winds would remain west of the island.

The NHC's long term forecast shows Kyle making landfall somewhere along the far northeastern US or the Canadian coast by Monday.