Tropical Storm Ernesto expected to become a hurricane by Wednesday | Tracking the Tropics

TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Tropical Storm Ernesto will impact the Leeward Islands, Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on Tuesday.

The storm’s center was located about 135 miles east-southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico, as of the National Hurricane Center’s 2 p.m. update. Its maximum sustained winds were 60 mph.

Ernesto is expected to move across the U.S. and British Virgin Islands on Tuesday evening and near Puerto Rico Tuesday night into Wednesday. The storm will then take a northward turn into the Atlantic.

It is forecast to become a hurricane by Wednesday.

A Hurricane Watch is in effect for:

• U.S. Virgin Islands
• British Virgin Islands
• Vieques and Culebra

A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for:

• St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda, and Anguilla
• Guadeloupe
• St. Martin and St. Barthelemy
• Sint Maarten
• British Virgin Islands
• U.S. Virgin Islands
• Puerto Rico
• Vieques and Culebra

Four to 6 inches of rain is expected to fall over parts of the Leeward and Virgin Islands. Six to 8 inches of rainfall is expected for Puerto Rico, with some areas receiving a maximum of 10 inches of rain. The Windward Islands and Eastern Hispaniola will also see a few inches of rain.

Forecasters warned the storm is expected to unleash floods and landslides.

“We cannot let our guard down,” Nino Correa, Puerto Rico’s emergency management commissioner, said at a news conference.

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said more than 340 shelters across the island would be available if necessary and that more than 200 personnel with the National Guard were activated.

Officials also warned Ernesto would cause widespread power outages given the fragile state of Puerto Rico’s power grid, which crews are still rebuilding after Hurricane Maria struck the island in September 2017 as a Category 4 storm.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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