he is Hurricane Ernesto moves towards Bermuda Thursday after hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico were left without power or water amid the heat that was reaching the US border and raising public health concerns.
Hurricane #Ernesto Advisory 15A: Hurricane Warning in Effect for Bermuda. Dangerous currents along US east coast beaches this weekend. https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 15, 2024
The Category 1 storm was about 605 miles southwest of Bermuda early Thursday. Ernesto had sustained winds of 85 mph and was moving north at 13 mph.
Ernesto is expected to become a Category 3 hurricane on Friday, dropping between 4 and 8 inches of rain in Bermuda and up to 12 inches in remote areas.
Meanwhile, Thursday’s rotating storm was generating southerly winds in Puerto Rico, which has a warming effect unlike the usual cooling trade winds that blow from the east.
“We know a lot of people don’t have electricity,” said Ernesto Morales of the National Weather Service, warning of extreme heat and urging people to stay hydrated.
Nearly half a million of the 1.4 million customers remained without information for more than a day after Ernesto crossed Puerto Rico on Tuesday night as a tropical storm before strengthening into a hurricane.
Hundreds of thousands of people are also without water due to power outages.
The situation worried many who lived through Hurricane Maria, a powerful Category 4 storm that hit Puerto Rico in September 2017 and was responsible for at least 2,975 deaths as a result of its destruction.
The National Weather Service issued a heat warning Thursday about “dangerously hot and humid conditions.”
Officials said they don’t know when power will be fully restored, as concerns grow about the health of many in Puerto Rico who can’t afford generators or solar panels on the island of 3.2 million. a person with a poverty level higher than 40%.
Crews were still assessing the situation, although no catastrophic damage was identified, said Juan Saca, president of Luma Energy, a private company that operates power transmission and distribution in Puerto Rico.
When pressed for an estimate of when power would be restored, Alejandro González, Luma’s director of operations, declined to answer.
“It would be reckless to give a definite date,” he said at a press conference on Wednesday evening.
How will Hurricane Ernesto affect the New York area?
In the tri-state area, we don’t expect to see major impacts from Ernesto; The storm stays away from the shore. The only area where we expect some marginal effects from Ernesto is the beach.
By the end of the week, storm surge with Ernesto will reach the east coast, contributing to higher surf conditions and an increased risk of dangerous currents. Those effects will continue throughout the weekend.
We also look for coastal flooding. Ernesto’s impact combined with onshore winds and an almost full moon will cause higher tides, which could lead to some flooding in low-lying areas and roads.
Weather forecast for August 15, 2024
2024-08-15 15:00:47
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