Tropical Storm Ernesto is expected to strengthen as it approaches Bermuda.
Tropical Storm Ernesto could strengthen into a Category 3 hurricane within the next week, meteorologists say.
Ernesto strengthened to a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday as it moved north of Puerto Rico, unleashing heavy rains and damaging winds that prompted flash flood warnings and knocked out power to more than half a million homes and businesses.
As of 11 a.m. ET, Ernesto was located 175 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with sustained winds of 75 mph, According to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm battered Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands throughout the morning, quickly dumping several inches of rain across the region, prompting meteorologists with the National Weather Service in San Juan to warn of “life-threatening flash flooding.” In total, the United States and the British Virgin Islands could see up to 6 inches of rain, while totals in southeastern Puerto Rico could rise to 8 to 10 inches.
On Tuesday, President Biden Agree to declare a state of emergency In Puerto Rico, the federal government has ordered help with local response efforts. Ahead of the storm, Puerto Rican officials closed government offices and schools, activated the National Guard and opened hundreds of shelters.
Forecasters expect Ernesto to move northward away from Puerto Rico through Wednesday as it drifts along the Atlantic Ocean toward Bermuda for several days, eventually developing into a major hurricane and staying away from the eastern continental United States.
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Ernesto cuts power to entire US Virgin Islands
Two of the three U.S. Virgin Islands — St. John and St. Croix — were in the dark Wednesday as officials worked to restore service in the wake of Hurricane Ernesto.
Daryl Jashin, Director of the Virgin Islands Regional Emergency Management Agency, He said at a press conference on Wednesday In addition to the outages, six cell phone towers were taken out of service across the region.
“The area is in good shape,” U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Albert Bryan Jr. said at the same news conference, but urged residents and tourists not to venture out as some rain continued to fall on the islands.
“There are a lot of branches of the road, there is a lot of water coming down from the hills on the three islands – and there is sporadic flooding,” he said.
More than half a million power outages reported in Puerto Rico
More than 600,000 customers across Puerto Rico were without power as Tropical Storm Ernesto battered the U.S. territory with strong winds and heavy rain.
Caguas, a major city in east-central Puerto Rico, saw the largest number of power outages, with about 166,693 going dark Wednesday morning, According to the Luma Energy websitePuerto Rico’s power grid operator.
The second-highest number of power outages, 123,976, was in Ponce, a large city on Puerto Rico’s southern coast, according to Loma Energy. In Carolina, a municipality east of San Juan, 115,852 power outages were reported. Some 58,195 homes and businesses in San Juan were in the dark Wednesday morning.
Loma Energy said Tuesday it has coordinated with emergency contractors across Puerto Rico to respond to power outages, and encouraged customers to update their contact information so they can receive the latest announcements. Power outages have become common since Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico’s power grid in 2017.
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Destructive winds, flooding in Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands
As Hurricane Ernesto slammed into Puerto Rico early Wednesday, officials issued flash flood warnings, while the National Hurricane Center reported damaging wind gusts.
By 7 a.m., 2 to 6 inches of rain had fallen in parts of eastern Puerto Rico, with an additional 2 to 3 inches expected. “Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin soon,” The National Weather Service in San Juan said:.
As total rainfall increases, the Rio Grande de Loíza and its tributaries continue to rise, and the risk of flooding continues to rise, the weather service said, adding that “these rivers are likely to flood during the morning hours.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Virgin Islands’ St. John and St. Thomas received between 3 and 5 inches of rain as of Wednesday morning, prompting the weather service to warn of the potential for “life-threatening flash flooding of creeks, rivers, urban areas, highways, streets and tunnels.”
According to the National Weather Service office in San Juan, winds of 86 mph were recorded in Culebra, a small island off the east coast of Puerto Rico. A National Weather Service crew in Ceiba County, in northeastern Puerto Rico, recorded winds of 74 mph. The weather service said winds of 75 mph were recorded throughout the Virgin Islands.
Will Ernesto affect the US mainland?
Although Ernesto is not expected to hit the U.S. mainland, authorities have warned of potentially dangerous beach conditions — such as strong currents and large waves — along the country’s Atlantic coast as the storm moves toward Bermuda.
The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday warned recreational boaters, fishermen, beachgoers and water sports enthusiasts in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to stay out of the water “due to worsening sea conditions and dangerous currents associated with Tropical Storm Ernesto.”
Forecasters said strong waves would begin hitting North Carolina beaches by Friday and advised beachgoers to be aware of the risks.
“The storm may be hundreds of miles out to sea and the weather may look great on beaches along Florida, the Carolinas and even New England, but everyone needs to be aware of the risks and hazards on the beach,” said Alex Da Silva, lead hurricane forecaster at AccuWeather. “We expect the risk of rip currents along the U.S. Atlantic coast to begin later this week across the Southeast and build over the weekend, extending northward.”
Ernesto is the fifth named storm of the 2024 hurricane season.
In a revised forecast released earlier this month, the federal government predicted an “extremely active” Atlantic hurricane season that could rank among the most active on record. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast 17 to 24 named storms, with eight to 13 of those expected to become hurricane-strength, up from the average of 14 named storms and seven hurricanes.
In a statement, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Rick Spinrad said the season had started “early and violently” with Beryl the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record. He added that the agency’s update indicates that the peak of the hurricane season, which typically includes the most powerful storms and hurricanes, is near.
Overall, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there is a 90% chance of an above-average season, among the highest chances the agency has ever issued, senior seasonal hurricane forecaster Matthew Rosenkranz told USA Today.
Ernesto comes in the wake of deadly Cyclone Debbie
Ernesto emerged in the Atlantic Ocean as residents and authorities across the eastern United States were recovering from earlier Tropical Storm Debbie.
Hurricane Debbie made landfall last week along Florida’s Big Bend as a Category 1 hurricane before the storm’s remnants caused major flooding across much of the East Coast, submerging entire neighborhoods as authorities conducted rescues and evacuations. The storm was linked to at least eight deaths.
In July, Hurricane Beryl hit the Caribbean as a major hurricane before hitting Texas, causing massive power outages and several deaths from heat stroke. Beryl was linked to more than 20 deaths across the United States and the Caribbean.
Contributors: Doyle Rice, Dayna Voyles-Pulver and Jorge L. Ortiz, USA Today; C.A. Bridges, Palm Beach Post
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