Photo: JAYDEE LEE SERRANO / AFP / Getty Images
Hurricane Ernesto, the third hurricane of the season, is heading towards Bermuda, bringing with it the threat of life-threatening rip currents along the East Coast. The hurricane, which has already caused damage in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, is currently moving north at 14 mph, just east of the Bahamas. With maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, Ernesto is a Category 1 hurricane, just 9 mph away from a Category 2 designation, according to the National Hurricane Center.
A hurricane warning is now in effect for Bermuda, where rainfall is expected to increase on Thursday, with potential flash flooding from Friday through the weekend. AccuWeather meteorologists have urged residents to prepare for direct impacts from Ernesto this weekend, with the storm predicted to pass within 100 miles of the island on Saturday morning.
While the storm is not projected to make direct landfall on the U.S., forecasters expect it to bring dangerous swells to the East Coast over the weekend. The National Hurricane Center has warned people on the East Coast to prepare for a significant risk of life-threatening surf and rip currents. Similar conditions are also possible in the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Turks and Caicos islands in the coming days.
Ernesto is the fifth named tropical storm and third hurricane of the already busy 2024 Atlantic season, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had predicted would be one of the busiest on record.