Ernesto intensified into a Category 1 hurricane Wednesday as it churned north of Puerto Rico, where it unleashed torrential rain and damaging winds that triggered flash flood warnings and cut power to nearly half the island.
As of 11 p.m. ET, Ernesto had left Puerto Rico well behind and was 175 miles northeast of Grand Turk island, according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm was about 690 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, a British island territory, and moving northwest near 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph.
Ernesto could become a Category 3 hurricane by Friday before approaching Bermuda on Saturday, according to the NHC. The Bermuda Weather Service issued a hurricane watch.
Forecasters warned of rainfall and flash flooding later in the week with possible hurricane conditions in Bermuda on Saturday. Though Ernesto is expected to remain offshore on the U.S. East Coast, the NHC said swells are forecast to reach the region into the weekend — increasing the risk of life-threatening surf and rip currents.
The storm pummeled Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands through much of Wednesday, quickly dumping several inches of rain. All told, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands were in line for widespread rainfall of up to 6 inches, while the total for southeastern Puerto Rico could climb to as much as 8 to 10 inches.
Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said the power outages also left more than 200,000 homes and businesses without water.
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Puerto Rico, ordering the federal government to assist in local response efforts. Ahead of the storm, officials in Puerto Rico closed government offices, shuttered schools, activated the National Guard, and opened hundreds of shelters.
Forecasters expect Ernesto to drift for a couple of days along the warm waters of the western Atlantic toward Bermuda before eventually developing into a major hurricane and remaining far east of the continental U.S.
Ernesto:Track where the storm is heading as it barrels towards Puerto Rico
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Hundreds of thousands left without power in Puerto Rico
As many as 730,000 utility customers — almost exactly half the total in the U.S. territory — were out of power at one point Wednesday after Ernesto brought tropical storm-level winds and heavy rain to the island of more than 3 million American citizens.
By 8 p.m. ET, the blackouts were down to 649,000, still 44% of homes and businesses, according to LUMA Energy, the operator of Puerto Rico’s power grid. The company serves 1.47 million customers.
"We are on the road to reestablish service," said LUMA President Juan Saca, who did not have an estimate for when that might happen across the island but said 1,500 company employees were working at it. By Wednesday evening, more than 60% of customers still didn't have electricity in four of LUMA's seven regions.
Blackouts have been commonplace in Puerto Rico ever since Hurricane Maria destroyed the power grid in 2017.
In Puerto Rico, mudslides and cows wading through neck-high floodwater
The numerous flash-flood warnings across Puerto Rico for most of Wednesday provided an indication of the soaked landscape left behind by Ernesto, but not nearly as vivid as the sight of cows wading through neck-high water.
That was the image captured on video by El Nuevo Dia, Puerto Rico's leading newspaper, which said rising waters in the Gurabo River − in the east-central part of the island − forced the cows to "fight for their lives."
The newspaper also reported that heavy rains caused mudslides and left some municipalities without drinkable water, and numerous roads throughout the island have become impassable because of flooding and fallen trees or other objects, like power lines. More than 80 medical facilities, including at least 20 hospitals, were running on generators because of the outages, El Nuevo Dia reported.
Temperatures of up to 94 degrees and humidity in the low 80s are forecast for San Juan over the next several days and into next week, making for miserable conditions for the hundreds of thousands without power.
Ernesto knocks out power throughout the US Virgin Islands
Two of the three U.S. Virgin Islands – St. John and St. Croix – were completely in the dark Wednesday as officials worked to restore service in the wake of Ernesto.
Daryl Jaschen, the director of the Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency, said in a news conference Wednesday that, in addition to the outages, six cell phone towers were knocked offline across the territory.
U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan Jr.in the same news briefing said "the territory is in good shape" but urged residents and tourists not to venture outside as some rain bands continued lashing the islands.
“There’s a lot of branches on the road, there’s a lot of water coming off of hills on all three islands – and there’s sporadic flooding,” he said.
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Damaging wind gusts, flooding in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
As Ernesto pummeled Puerto Rico early Wednesday morning, officials issued flash flood warnings and the National Hurricane Center reported damaging wind gusts.
By 7 a.m., between 2 and 6 inches of rain had fallen in parts of eastern Puerto Rico, and an additional 2 to 3 inches was projected. "Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly," the weather service in San Juan said.
As rain totals climb, the Rio Grande de Loiza and its tributaries "continue to rise, and the flooding risk continues to increase," the weather service said, adding that the rivers would likely overflow.
Meanwhile, St. John and St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands received between 3 and 5 inches of rain through Wednesday morning, leading the weather service to warn of the potential for "life-threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets, and underpasses."
According to the National Weather Service office in San Juan, an 86 mph wind gust was recorded in Culebra, a small island off the eastern coast that's part of Puerto Rico. A National Weather Service crew in Ceiba, in northeastern Puerto Rico, recorded a gust of 74 mph. Winds as high as 75 mph were recorded across the Virgin Islands, the weather service said.
In Bermuda, stocking up as in COVID times
On Bermuda, Jessica Burns said she woke up Wednesday morning to torrential rain and is preparing for much worse this weekend, when Hurricane Ernesto could arrive as a Category 2 storm, according to the Bermuda Weather Service.
Burns, 29, said she was born and raised on the island, but this is her first summer at the helm of the family’s vacation rental business after her mother passed away in November 2023.
Burns, neighbors and staff trimmed loose branches and removed coconuts from trees “to make sure there’s no danger of those coming loose and causing damage,” she said.
Burns said she also loaded up on food, batteries and water. “We’re all going to the grocery store, stocking up like we were during COVID,” she said.
Some vacationers checked out early this week from Burns’ Southern Views Property Rentals, wanting to get out of Ernesto’s way. Other guests are “hunkering down” with staff and were provided an extra night for free to stay safe and dry, she said.
− Claire Thornton
Will Ernesto impact the mainland US?
While Ernesto isn't expected to hit the mainland U.S., authorities have warned of potentially dangerous beach conditions — such as rip currents and rough surf — along the nation's Atlantic coast as the storm churns toward Bermuda.
The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday cautionedrecreational boaters, fishermen, beachgoers, and water sports enthusiasts in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to stay out of the water "due to deteriorating sea state conditions and dangerous rip currentsassociated with Tropical Storm Ernesto."
Forecasters said strong swells will begin to reach North Carolina beaches by Friday and advised beachgoers to be aware of the risks and dangers.
"The storm may be hundreds of miles out to sea and the weather could look great at beaches along Florida, the Carolinas, even up to New England, but everyone needs to be aware of the risks and dangers at the beach," according to AccuWeather Lead Hurricane Expert Alex DaSilva. "We expect the rip current risk along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. to start later this week along the Southeast and ramp up over the weekend, expanding to the north."
Ernesto fifth named storm in 2024 hurricane season
In a revised forecast issued earlier this month, the federal government called for an "extremely active" Atlantic hurricane season, one that could rank among the busiest on record. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted 17 to 24 named storms with about 8 to 13 becoming hurricane-strength, over the average 14 named storms and seven hurricanes.
In a statement, NOAA head Rick Spinrad said the season started "early and violent" with Hurricane Beryl being the earliest Category 5 hurricane in the Atlantic on record. He added the agency's update signifies that the peak of the hurricane season is near, which typically includes the most impactful storms and hurricanes.
Overall, NOAA says there's a 90% chance of an above-average season, which is among the highest chances ever issued by the agency, lead seasonal hurricane forecaster Matthew Rosencrans told USA TODAY.
Ernesto comes on the heels of deadly Hurricane Debby
Ernesto emerged in the Atlantic as residents and authorities across the eastern U.S. were recovering from former tropical storm Debby.
Debby made landfall last week along Florida's Big Bend region as a Category 1 hurricane before the storm's remnants caused major flooding across much of the Eastern Seaboard, inundating entire neighborhoods as authorities conducted water rescues and evacuations. At least eight deaths have been tied to the storm.
In July, Hurricane Beryl pummeled the Caribbean as a major hurricane before slamming Texas, inflicting massive power blackouts that led to several fatal cases of heatstroke. Beryl has been linked to more than 20 deaths across the U.S. and the Caribbean.
Contributing: Doyle Rice and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY; C. A. Bridges, Palm Beach Post; Reuters
