A major storm in the Atlantic Ocean heading towards Bermuda has strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane.

On Wednesday, Hurricane Gonzalo picked up strength, becoming a Category 4 hurricane a little after noon, reports CBC News.

The storm, which is expected to hit Bermuda by Friday, is on track to be the strongest hurricane to hit the Caribbean island in three years.

Earlier this week, Gonzalo swept through the islands of the Lesser Antilles, bringing gusting winds up to 88 mph to Antigua, 70 mph gusting winds to Barbuda and 75 mph to on Monday evening, reports ABC News.

As a result, the storm killed at least one person and injured 12 others, while causing damage to homes on Antigua and other Caribbean islands, reports The Weather Channel.

The storm then intensified on Tuesday.

Forecasters say that Gonzalo may continue to become more intense and bring high winds and rain to Nova Scotia and Newfoundland by late Saturday.

"While there continues to be quite a spread and some disagreement on the exact track and eventual timing of Gonzalo, at the moment at least, the bulk of the model runs do have the storm tracking through our region late Saturday or early Sunday," said CBC News meteorologist Ryan Snoddon.

"Whether it officially makes landfall on the island [Newfoundland] or not, it's looking more likely that we will see some impact from the storm."

"That quick speed of the storm should help to keep those overall total amounts from being too impressive. The heaviest rains will fall along and west of the eventual track, wherever that ends up being," added Snoddon.

However, the winds will be pretty intense if Gonzalo does move into the region.

"If the track is far enough southeast, the strongest winds could remain offshore. If the track is further west, then the island itself would see those strongest winds," Snoddon noted.