Two big storms churn in Atlantic, days from land

MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) -- Hurricane Isaac and Tropical Storm Joyce churned through the open Atlantic Wednesday, both a threat to shipping but no danger to any land for days to come, forecasters said.

Joyce, the tenth tropical storm of the Atlantic season, was poised to become a hurricane as it charged toward the islands of the southeastern Caribbean while Isaac, the ninth, regained some strength on a course that could take it near Bermuda.

At 5 a.m. EDT , Joyce was centered about 1,445 miles east of the Windward Islands of the Caribbean at latitude 12.4 north and longitude 38.1 west, and was headed west at about 14 mph , the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

With maximum winds of 70 mph , Joyce was expected to reach hurricane strength -- with winds of 74 mph -- later Wednesday, forecasters said.

It was not expected to affect the Caribbean islands for another three or four days.

The center of Isaac was located about 1,330 miles east-southeast of Bermuda at latitude 20.7 north, longitude 47.5 west as of 5 a.m. EDT Wednesday, the hurricane center said.

Its top winds were near 100 mph and it was moving north at about 14 mph , forecasters said.

The storm was expected to stay on roughly the same track and its maximum winds could increase in the next day, forecasters said.

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