Hurricane Katia weakens to Category 3 storm

MIAMI - Hurricane Katia has weakened to a Category 3 storm as it moves across the Atlantic Ocean after briefly becoming a Category 4 system.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami says Katia's maximum sustained winds early Tuesday have decreased to near 125 mph (205 kph). The hurricane center says some fluctuation in strength is possible over the next 24 hours followed by slow weakening.

Forecast maps show Katia veering to the northeast, away from the U.S. in the coming week, but the hurricane center says large swells from the hurricane could affect the East Coast, Bermuda, the Greater Antilles and parts of the Bahamas over the next few days.

Katia is centered about 400 miles (645 kilometers) south of Bermuda and moving northwest near 10 mph (17 kph).

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)