Hurricane Ernesto, now a Category 2, approaches Bermuda with "strong winds, dangerous storm surge"
Hurricane Ernesto is approaching the North Atlantic island of Bermuda, the National Hurricane Center said on Friday morning, carrying with it "strong winds, dangerous storm surge and life-threatening flooding" that is expected to begin by the end of the day. The storm, which knocked out power to hundreds of thousands in the Caribbean earlier this week, is now about 255 miles south of the island nation.
In its latest update, the Miami-based weather prediction center said that Ernesto is moving at about 13 mph and that it's expected to slow down even more on Saturday when its center is expected to pass "near or over Bermuda." Sustained winds are about 100 mph, making it a Category 2 hurricane, and the hurricane-force winds are extending about 70 miles from Ernesto's center, while tropical storm-force winds extend up to 265 miles.
The hurricane is expected to strengthen within the next day or so before closing in on Bermuda on Saturday. Forecasters believe it will remain at hurricane strength throughout the weekend. Tropical storm conditions will pick up in Bermuda by Friday afternoon.
The storm's categorization is based on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale, which only accounts for wind speed and not the tropical cyclone's size, which the National Hurricane Center said is "large." It also doesn't account for the amount of precipitation the storm system holds or its moving speed, both of which can be disastrous. Slow-moving tropical cyclones can increase the amount of rain, storm surge and flooding a region experiences.
Currently, Bermuda is expected to be hit with up to a foot of rain, with some areas receiving up to 15 inches, an amount that "will likely result in considerable life-threatening flash flooding," the center said.
"Swells generated by Ernesto are affecting portions of the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Bahamas, and Bermuda," the National Hurricane Center said. "Swells are expected to spread up the east coast of the United States later today and continue into the weekend, and could reach portions of Atlantic Canada by late Saturday. These swells are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions."
Ahead of Ernesto's arrival, a rush of people have been trying to leave Bermuda. Michael Vanderbilt of Arlington, Virginia, who cut his trip to Bermuda short, was among the travelers waiting in long lines at L.F. Wade International Airport Thursday.
"I was here for a week of vacation, and I'm just taking the opportunity to leave a little early so I don't get caught up in the aftermath of the storm," Vanderbilt told CBS News.
The waves were already getting rough on the south end of Bermuda Thursday, and Bermudians like Richard Evans of Pembroke Parish were boarding their homes.
"You never know until it actually hits because it can change direction, but you prepare like it's going to hit," Evans said.
Ernesto already caused potentially life-threatening conditions in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands earlier this week. It passed north of the region as a tropical storm that still managed to knock out power to hundreds of thousands of residents. At one point, 23 hospitals were operating on generators. Schools and numerous roads were also closed.
A spokesperson for Puerto Rico's electricity provider, LUMA Energy, told CBS News that at the outage's peak, 750,000 customers were without power. As of 9:15 a.m. EDT Friday, that number had dropped to just under 238,000. Some 1,600 crew members were working as quickly as possible to repair the power grid.
Residents in Puerto Rico were still coping with the damage Thursday. In Fajardo, a town on the northeast corner of the island, debris piles from damaged businesses were growing.
The U.S. Virgin Islands had about 46,000 out of power at one point on Wednesday — nearly all customers. As of Thursday night, about 10,000 homes and businesses were still without power, according to PowerOutage.us, a number that jumped back up to more than 20,500 by Friday morning — about 40% of the U.S. territory.
Ernesto developed just days after Debby finished its move along the U.S. East Coast, where it left at least eight people dead, including children, as a Category 1 hurricane-turned-tropical storm.
Rivers across Puerto Rico were swollen after nearly 10 inches of rain.
Officials were forced to open flood gates at a dam along the La Plata River. Sirens warned residents in nearby municipality of Toa Baja to evacuate their homes in case of flooding.
Puerto Rico's power grid was wiped out in 2017 by Hurricane Maria, which slammed the island as a strong Category 4 storm.
"The government today is much better prepared," said Juan Saca, president and CEO of LUMA Energy. "… We have a plan that you can go into our website and take a look at the plan."
President Biden approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico, the White House said Tuesday night, authorizing FEMA to help with storm recovery.
Ernesto is 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.
Editor's Note: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story reported 975,000 customers had lost power in Puerto Rico, but that was the number of customers who still had power, according to Puerto Rico's electricity provider.
