Hurricane Ernesto Hits Bermuda

On August 15, Hurricane Ernesto made landfall on Bermuda as a Category 1 hurricane, bringing with it dangerous rip currents and large waves. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that Ernesto had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and was moving north-northeast at 9 mph, approximately 15 miles from Bermuda. The storm is expected to gradually move away from the island and approach Newfoundland, Canada, by Monday night. The NHC has issued warnings regarding significant coastal flooding and dangerous storm surges in Bermuda, particularly in areas experiencing onshore winds. Rainfall accumulations are projected to reach between 6 to 9 inches, raising concerns about life-threatening flash flooding, especially in low-lying regions of the island. Additionally, swells generated by the storm are impacting the Bahamas, Bermuda, and parts of the East Coast of the United States, with expectations that they will reach Atlantic Canada later on Saturday. Ernesto intensified into a hurricane on Wednesday and reached Category 2 status by Thursday night, with sustained winds of 100 mph. Although the storm did not make landfall in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands, it caused widespread power outages, affecting hundreds of thousands of customers. As of Saturday, over 8,000 residents in the U.S. Virgin Islands remained without power, according to Poweroutages.us. The storm follows a series of tropical weather events in the region, including Beryl, which impacted the Caribbean and the Gulf Coast in late June and early July, as well as two tropical storms, Cindy and Alberto, that were active in the Gulf of Mexico in June.