Tropical Storm Ernesto The National Hurricane Center said the hurricane is expected to strengthen into a hurricane as it passes north of Puerto Rico on Wednesday morning, and could become a major hurricane “in a few days.”
Ernesto was the fifth named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season 2024 as it formed on a rapid path to the Caribbean on Monday. The storm follows Hurricane Debbywhich hit parts of the southeastern United States with devastating floods last week and brought a severe weather front that eventually affected much of the east coast. The hurricane center said Ernesto would not make landfall on the U.S. mainland.
As of 5 a.m. EDT, forecasters said Ernesto had maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, just under the 74 mph needed to be classified as a hurricane, and was moving northwest at 16 mph. Its center was about 85 miles north-northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, the hurricane center said.
A hurricane warning has been issued for the British Virgin Islands. A tropical storm warning has been issued for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Vieques and Culebra.
Hurricane warnings are issued when hurricane conditions are possible in a given area within about 12 hours. Tropical storm warnings are issued when forecasters expect tropical storm conditions to reach an area within 36 hours. Strong winds and other weather conditions typical of a tropical storm are already occurring in the Leeward Islands, they said.
According to the hurricane center, tropical storm-force winds extended up to 150 miles (240 kilometers) from Ernesto’s center on Wednesday morning – a significant extension from their 70-mile (112-kilometer) reach on Tuesday morning.
Not unlike Debby, which brought devastating and in some cases historic rainfall to the southeastern U.S. states last week, Ernesto’s primary threat was heavy rainfall, although less rain was forecast this week than last week’s hurricane.
The hurricane center said the storm is expected to bring between 4 and 6 inches of rain across the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and up to 10 inches in southeastern Puerto Rico. There were “torrential rains” in eastern Puerto Rico Wednesday morning.
“Minor flooding remains possible in areas of offshore winds along the east coast of Puerto Rico, including the islands of Culebra and Vieques, and in the U.S. Virgin Islands, including St. Thomas, St. John, and St. Croix,” the center added.
