Tropical Storm Ernesto again strengthens into a hurricane as it nears Canada

by Miranda Nazzaro - 08/18/24 7:12 PM ET

This photo provided by the National Park Service on Friday, Aug. 16, 2024, in Rodanthe, N.C., along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore shows debris from an unoccupied beach house that collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean from winds and waves caused by Hurricane Ernesto. (Cape Hatteras National Seashore via AP)

Tropical Storm Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane again Sunday as it churns toward the northeastern Atlantic, bringing powerful swells to the U.S. East Coast in its wake.

The National Hurricane Center said Sunday that Ernesto became a hurricane again after its maximum sustained winds were clocked at 75 mph, just barely meeting the Category 1 threshold.

Ernesto is expected to intensify over the next 12 hours, and forecasters predicted it will continue to bring swells to portions of the Bahamas, Bermuda, the U.S. East Coast and Atlantic Canada. Life-threatening surf and rip conditions are “likely” to persist in the coming days, the hurricane center added.

The storm was centered early Sunday evening about 520 miles south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and is expected to pass southeastern Newfoundland late Monday and early Tuesday. Large breaking waves are expected in this region, with the possibility of coastal flooding, forecasters said.

Ernesto’s upgrade to a hurricane came just hours after forecasters weakened it to a tropical storm late Saturday after it brought heavy rain and strong winds to Bermuda, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

While Bermuda did not experience any injuries or major incidents, Ernesto slammed the northeastern Caribbean last week, prompting mass power and water outages in Puerto Rico.

Earlier Sunday, the National Weather Service posted a coastal flood advisory, warning of a high risk for rip currents along the Atlantic coast through Monday evening. The warning went from Florida to the Boston area, while flash flood warnings were posted for parts of Connecticut and southeastern New York, the AP said. Flash flood watches and advisories were in effect for areas of Delaware, New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania, the news wire added.

The rough surf hit North Carolina over the weekend, and an unoccupied house on the Outer Banks collapsed into the water last Friday as a result, per the AP. In Hilton Head Island, S.C., two men drowned in separate incidents last Friday, but it was not clear whether rip currents played a role, local outlet The Island Packet reported.

The Associated Press reported.

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