Hurricane Ernesto strengthens and moves toward Bermuda after lashing Puerto Rico
Hurricane Ernesto was heading toward Bermuda on Thursday after its winds knocked out power to hundreds of thousands of people and dumped torrential rain on Puerto Rico.
The storm, which strengthened into a hurricane after it passed by Puerto Rico on Wednesday, was last passing over open water about 570 miles south-southwest of Bermuda at about 14 mph. Its maximum sustained winds were blowing at 85 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center's 11 a.m. advisory.
"Satellite imagery indicates that Ernesto is gradually strengthening," the NHC said overnight.
The National Hurricane Center and the Bermuda Weather Service issued a hurricane warning for Bermuda early Thursday, meaning sustained winds of 64 knots, or about 74 mph, are expected in the island’s marine area within 36 hours.
NHC Director Michael Brennan said in a video briefing Wednesday that when the center of Ernesto passes near or over Bermuda on Saturday, the hurricane is likely to be “at or near major hurricane intensity.”
The NHC advisory said Ernesto is forecast to strengthen over the next day or two and could become a major hurricane by Friday.
When it passes near or over Bermuda, it'll bring dangerous coastal conditions and 4 to 8 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts up to 12 inches possible.
Bermuda National Security Minister Michael Weeks has urged people to take the storm seriously and to prepare for its impact.
“As I have said before, it only takes one storm to cause significant damage and disrupt our way of life,” Weeks said Wednesday. “Now is not the time for complacency.”
Meanwhile, tropical storm warnings for Puerto Rico, its outlying islands of Vieques and Culebra, and the U.S. and British Virgin Islands were discontinued after the storm passed through the region.
“I know it was a long night listening to that wind howl,” U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr. said at a news conference.
No deaths related to the storm have been reported in Puerto Rico. Over 730,000 customers were left without electricity Wednesday, with some also losing water service, Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said. As of 11 a.m. Thursday, over 428,000 customers were without power, according to Luma, or about 29% of its 1.4 million customers.
A little more than 10 inches of rain fell in the region of Barranquitas in Puerto Rico, the National Weather Service in San Juan said, and much of the island was still under flood watches late Wednesday.
Dramatic video posted to social media showed the moment sailors were rescued from a stranded tugboat off the island of Sint Maarten as it was blasted by high winds and heavy rain Tuesday.
In advance of Ernesto’s hitting Puerto Rico, President Joe Biden issued an order authorizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to coordinate disaster relief efforts and supplement local disaster relief.
Swells from Ernesto are already affecting parts of the Caribbean islands, and swells are expected to reach the U.S. East Coast on Thursday night and continue into the weekend — likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, the NHC said.
Canada's Hurricane Centre said that while it was too soon to be certain, Ernesto’s current path puts it on course to affect the eastern provinces of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia at the end of the week.
Ernesto is the fifth named storm and the third hurricane of what has already been an exceptionally busy hurricane season.
No comments:
Post a Comment