Friday, August 16, 2024 After battering Puerto Rico with torrential rain, Hurricane Ernesto is now heading toward Bermuda for its closest strike in almost four years. The storm could also brush parts of Atlantic Canada early next week, following its flooding rains and damaging winds that hammered Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles. Currently, Ernesto is centered over 500 miles south-southwest of Bermuda and is moving north.
Despite battling dry air since first becoming a hurricane early Wednesday, Ernesto has held steady at Category 1 wind intensity, with hurricane-force winds gradually growing and now extending up to 60 miles from its center. Overnight, Ernesto intensified, with winds now reaching 85 mph. The storm is expected to rapidly strengthen over open waters, potentially reaching near-major hurricane status by Friday before its center passes close to or over Bermuda on Saturday, according to the latest advisory from the National Hurricane Center.
A major hurricane is classified as one with sustained winds of at least 111 mph, categorizing it as a Category 3 storm or higher. AccuWeather predicts that Ernesto will reach at least Category 3 status by Friday as it approaches Bermuda. In preparation, a hurricane warning was issued early Thursday morning for Bermuda, signaling that hurricane-force winds are expected, typically within 36 hours of tropical storm-force winds.
Locally heavy rain is possible in Bermuda into Friday, with tropical storm-force winds expected to arrive Friday afternoon. All preparations should be completed before these deteriorating conditions arrive. Ernesto’s center is forecast to pass close enough to Bermuda on Saturday to bring hurricane conditions.
The storm will also temporarily slow as it approaches, meaning its impacts are likely to last through Saturday night, possibly into Sunday morning before it leaves. Bermuda can expect high winds, flooding rain, storm surge, and battering waves, with up to 12 inches of rain possible through early Sunday, according to the NHC. After leaving Bermuda, Ernesto will curl northeast and move much faster.
While there is typical uncertainty in its exact track, it could end up close enough to far eastern Nova Scotia and/or Newfoundland by Monday to bring at least some winds, rain, and waves along the coast as it transitions from a hurricane to a post-tropical cyclone. Despite staying well off the U.S.
East Coast, Ernesto’s swells are expected to generate dangerous rip currents from Florida to the Northeast through this weekend. Beachgoers along the U.S.
East Coast should remain aware of this threat. This latest storm in the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season formed just over a week after Hurricane Debby made landfall on Florida’s Big Bend on Monday, August 5. On Thursday, August 14, the National Hurricane Center unveiled its new “cone of concern” for Hurricane Ernesto.
You won’t notice many differences between the original and new cones for Ernesto, except that the new version includes wind warnings for interior counties, not just coastal ones. Both cones are available on the Hurricane Center’s website. To view the new cone, visit the graphics page for Hurricane Ernesto and click on the New Experimental Cone highlighted in red.
“The most significant change to the cone is the inclusion of inland wind warnings, which the National Weather Service has issued for years,” said National Hurricane Center Deputy Director Jamie Rhome. “We’re integrating that information into the NHC cone for a more comprehensive view of the threat so people don’t have to check two different websites. All the information is now seamlessly combined.
” Notable changes include:.
