MIAMI -- The National Hurricane Center's 5 a.m. advisory says Tropical Storm Bertha's winds have increased to 75 mph, making it the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season.

Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 75 mph. Gusts are even higher.

The storm is moving toward the west-northwest but it's still more than 800 miles east of the Caribbean in the central Atlantic, and forecasters said it's still too soon to tell if or when it's going to make landfall.

The Hurricane Center said it will probably slow down over the next couple of days even while it picks up additional strength.

The first named storm this year, Arthur, formed in the Atlantic the day before the season officially started June 1 and soaked the Yucatan Peninsula.