Tropical Storm Ernesto is forecast to become a hurricane again on Sunday as it heads across the Atlantic towards Newfoundland, Canada.
Ernesto made landfall in Bermuda early Saturday morning as a Category 1 hurricane, bringing “dangerous weather” to Bermuda, then weakened to a tropical storm that night on its exit path.
At 11 p.m., the storm moved north-northeast of the island at a normal speed of 8 mph, the center said.
It was about 590 miles south of Halifax, Nova Scotia on Sunday morning, moving north-northeast at 16 mph with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.
“Some intensification is possible Sunday and Sunday night, and Ernesto may regain hurricane status,” the Hurricane Center said in an update on Ernesto. “The hurricane will become post-tropical near southeastern Newfoundland Monday night or Tuesday morning.”
The center of Ernesto is expected to pass near southeastern Newfoundland late Monday into Tuesday morning, the center of the hurricane.
A tropical storm warning is no longer in effect for Bermuda, where 7 to 9 inches of rain is expected to bring “life-threatening” flash flooding, especially in low-lying areas, the hurricane center said Saturday. Coastal flooding is possible on the island, coupled with “large and destructive waves”.
In a statement on Saturday morning, the Bermuda government warned that although the storm’s eye had moved north of the island, the southern eyewall would continue to take its toll.
“Don’t be fooled by the lackluster winds…the 2nd half of Ernesto is yet to pass us,” the government said. Said in X.
More than 26,000 utility customers were without power in Bermuda on Saturday, representing 72% of the island, according to local officials. As of Sunday afternoon, more than 10,000 utility customers were still without power, or about 34% of the island. Bermuda Electric Light Company.
Officials said there had been no major damage in Bermuda so far, but emergency services were also on limited patrols due to strong winds.
Video captured by an NBC News crew in the island’s capital, Hamilton, showed some debris, including downed palm fronds and tree branches, but no damage to buildings. In Southampton, strong winds could be seen blowing through palm trees. Trees, poles and branches were also downed in the area.
Hazardous coastal conditions, including large waves and currents, are expected along the East Coast and Atlantic Canada through early next week. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration buoys overnight measured waves as high as 7 feet off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and 6 feet off Montauk Point, Long Island.
Concerned about storm-stirred currents, New York City officials closed Queens and Brooklyn beaches to swimming through Sunday. Authorities herded people into the dry sand on Saturday.
“They were suddenly pulling people out of the water,” Felia Williams of Astoria, a beach on Coney Island, told NBC New York.
