Tropical Storm Ernesto brings "flooding rains" to Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands as it nears hurricane status
Tropical Storm Ernesto was churning through the Caribbean early Wednesday, just days after Debby finished its trek along the U.S. East Coast. Ernesto was expected to become a hurricane sometime Wednesday morning as it passed north of Puerto Rico, where it could bring "torrential rain," the National Hurricane Center warned.
As of 8 a.m. ET, Ernesto was still tropical storm strength, though barely. The National Hurricane Center said that the storm's sustained winds are measuring around 70 mph with higher gusts. Hurricane status, measured by the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale, is declared when winds measure between 74 and 95 mph. It does not account for cyclone size, speed, precipitation or storm surge, all of which pose additional dangers.
Ernesto is expected to become a hurricane later Wednesday and "could become a major hurricane in a couple of days," forecasters said. Major hurricane status is Category 3, or winds of 111 mph, and higher.
President Biden approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico, the White House said Tuesday night, authorizing FEMA to help with storm recovery.
"On the forecast track," the Miami-based hurricane center said, "the center of Ernesto will move northward away from Puerto Rico through today. Ernesto should then move over the western Atlantic later in the week and be nearing Bermuda on Saturday."
A tropical storm warning is in effect for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico and its islands of Vieques and Culebra. The previous hurricane watch for the BVI has been discontinued, and forecasters said that Bermuda should monitor the storm's progress.
CBS News senior weather and climate producer David Parkinson said Wednesday that even though Ernesto is dozens of miles away from Puerto Rico, its back end "is still hammering the island with torrential downpours."
The hurricane center said the storm is expected to produce between 4 and 6 inches of rain over the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and up to 10 inches across southeastern Puerto Rico. Parkinson noted Wednesday morning that more than half a foot of rain has already fallen in Culebra and Vieques "with another inch or two to go."
That amount of precipitation is causing rivers to overflow. Puerto Rico's Rio Grande de Loiza "may spill out of its banks" in the next few hours, Parkinson said, while elsewhere on the island, "Rio Blanco's gauge went parabolic this morning, going from 6 to 16 feet in less than 90 minutes."
"The positive news is that the river has fallen nearly as quickly as it has risen, and is down to 10 feet," Parkinson said. "That will likely be the story all across the island. The rivers won't stay above flood stage for very long, but they will cause brief major flooding."
While the U.S. mainland is largely outside of the risk zone for Ernesto, Parkinson said that it could bring rip currents and larger waves to the coast. The northeast, he said, could see 8-foot waves over the weekend and the Carolinas — still recovering from Tropical Storm Debby — could see a swell build starting tomorrow.
Ernesto marks the fifth named storm so far of the Atlantic hurricane season, which has already proven to be historic after Beryl reached record strength at the beginning of the season in above-average temperatures of the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA has predicted an above-normal season, with 17-25 named storms, eight to 13 hurricanes, and four to seven major hurricanes.
The fifth-named storm typically doesn't form until Aug. 22, according to NOAA.
