The storm continued to lose strength late Sunday as it moved over cooler waters. The first hurricane of the Atlantic storm season, Bill was about 375 km west of Cape Race, Newfoundland, around 2300 GMT.

The storm was moving toward the northeast at 56 km per hour and gaining speed, typical of weakening hurricanes. It had maximum sustained winds of nearly 120 km per hour and remained a category one hurricane but was likely to be downgraded to a tropical storm by Monday.

Bill was expected to approach land late Sunday, bring up to 10 centimetres of rain to southeastern Newfoundland, with smaller totals across the Canadian Maritimes.

President Barack Obama and his family delayed their arrival Sunday on the Massachusetts resort island of Martha's Vineyard by several hours, due to tropical storm warning in effect as Hurricane Bill passed some 300 km off the coast.

While flying to Cape Cod aboard Air Force One, the presidential plane, Obama spokesman Bill Burton gave reporters in the travelling press pool 'specific instructions from the president'.

'He wants you to relax and have a good time,' Burton said. 'Take some walks on the beaches. Nobody is looking to make any news, so he's hoping that you guys can enjoy Martha's Vineyard while we're there.'