Ernesto strengthens to hurricane as thousands in Caribbean are without power

Tropical Storm Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane late Wednesday morning after leaving hundreds of thousands of people in the northeast Caribbean without power.

The National Hurricane Center declared Ernesto a Category 1 hurricane as of 11 a.m. EDT Wednesday. Ernesto’s rainfall is expected to affect Bermuda on Thursday as the storm moves away from Puerto Rico and travels north.

“[T]he official forecast still reflects the possibility of Ernesto becoming a major hurricane in about 48 hours,” the National Hurricane Center said late Wednesday morning.

More than 600,000 customers — nearly half of all customers in Puerto Rico — were left without power on Wednesday, according to power company LUMA Energy.

The storm reached maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said.

President Biden declared an emergency in Puerto Rico on Tuesday and authorized the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to assist in disaster relief efforts.

Schools and government agencies stayed closed in Puerto Rico, with heavy flooding reported in several areas, The Associated Press reported.

Southeastern Puerto Rico is expected to see 6 to 8 inches of rainfall, with a maximum of up to 10 inches in the region, according to the National Hurricane Center. Northwestern Puerto Rico is expected to see 2 to 4 inches of rainfall.

Ernesto will move across the western Atlantic and the center of the hurricane is expected to reach Bermuda on Friday and Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said. The hurricane is expected to become a Category 3 storm in the coming days, then weaken to a Category 2 as it approaches Bermuda.