Hurricane Ernesto: When it will make landfall in the U.S.
The United States is bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Ernesto, which is estimated to be affecting the nation’s East Coast.
Ernesto is about to make landfall in Bermuda and is increasing the coastal danger for much of the U.S. East Coast after battering Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Powerful Hurricane Ernesto, which has been upgraded to a Category 2 could strengthen further while over the Atlantic this Friday before making landfall in Bermuda early Saturday.
Hurricane Ernesto’s strength late this week was driven by extremely warm Atlantic waters, a phenomenon that is becoming more prevalent in a warming world due to fossil fuel pollution, but dry air interacting with the system prevented an explosive strengthening.
The center of the hurricane will move near or over Bermuda on Saturday, but powerful wind gusts and heavy rain will arrive sooner.
Torrential rain and tropical storm-force wind gusts will begin late Friday morning over the small island, which is about one-third the size of the city of Washington.
The most powerful winds and torrential rains are likely to arrive late Friday or early Saturday.
Hurricane Ernesto could dump 150 to 300 millimeters of rain on the island through Saturday night, with potential for isolated totals approaching 380 mm.
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Hurricane Ernesto: When it will make landfall in the U.S.
Hurricane Ernesto will have a wide-ranging impact despite remaining far from large land masses.
For most of the U.S. Atlantic coast, the most dangerous coastal conditions will develop over the weekend, coinciding with the time when many people are flocking to the beach.
Ernesto “will result in very dangerous rip currents (on Saturday and Sunday),” the National Weather Service warned Thursday in Mount Holly, New Jersey.
Rip currents can cause exhaustion for even the strongest swimmers and can turn deadly.
At least 29 people died from rip currents this year in the United States and its territories, according to the National Weather Service.
Beyond Bermuda, Ernesto will pass near Atlantic Canada early next week and potentially cause some rain, wind and rough seas.
