New York.- Tropical Storm Ernesto strengthened back into a hurricane today as it moved away from Bermuda and into the northeastern Atlantic, where it is sending powerful storm surges toward the U.S. East Coast and generating rip currents that have been linked to at least one death and numerous rescues.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported Ernesto’s maximum sustained winds were 75 mph (120 km/h), just shy of a Category 1 storm.
Further strengthening is forecast over the next 12 hours and Ernesto is expected to weaken into a post-tropical cyclone on Tuesday, the NHC said. The storm was located about 520 miles (840 kilometers) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was expected to pass near southeastern Newfoundland late Monday and early Tuesday.
Swells generated by Ernesto were affecting parts of the Bahamas, Bermuda, the U.S. East Coast, and Atlantic Canada. According to the NHC, dangerous surf and rip currents are likely to occur in these areas during the next two days.
The U.S. National Weather Service earlier issued a coastal flood advisory and warned there was a high risk of rip currents along the Atlantic coast through Monday night that “can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore and into deeper water.”
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