Half of Puerto Rico without power as Hurricane Ernesto approaches Bermuda

Hurricane Ernesto notched 90mph maximum sustained winds on Thursday night as it moves toward Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean.

On Thursday the storm was some 450 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, which itself is about 650 miles east of the North Carolina coast.

The National Hurricane Center announced a hurricane warning for Bermuda. The center of Ernesto is forecast to pass close to or even directly over the island sometime on Saturday.

Additional strengthening is forecast, which would put Ernesto close to Category 3 major hurricane status when it reaches the island.

6 to 12 inches of rain could fall on Bermuda Saturday, with some places seeing as much as 15 inches. Forecasters say considerable life-threatening flash flooding will be possible.

A direct U.S. landfall is not expected, according to forecasters.

Storm wrecks Puerto Rico power grids

Half of Puerto Rico was waking up on Thursday in the dark, where more than 325,000 customers were still without power as cleanup efforts got underway. Parts of the U.S. territory got up to half a foot of rain, with flash flooding turning creeks into raging rivers. There are also concerns about mudslides on the island.

Fifty of Puerto Rico’s water plants were also knocked offline.

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