Hurricane Ernesto sends swells, rip currents to US east coast

Tropical Storm Ernesto became a hurricane again on Sunday as it churned away from Bermuda and headed further out in the northeastern Atlantic, sending powerful swells towards the US east coast, generating rip currents associated with at least one death and prompting many rescues.

The National Hurricane Centre in Miami said Ernesto’s maximum sustained winds were clocked at 120kph (75mph), just barely Category 1 strength.

More strengthening was forecast over the next 12 hours, with Ernesto then expected to weaken and become a post-tropical cyclone on Tuesday, the hurricane centre said. The storm was centred about 840km (520 miles) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was expected to pass near southeastern Newfoundland late on Monday and early on Tuesday.

Swells generated by Ernesto were affecting portions of the Bahamas, Bermuda, the US East Coast as well as the Canadian Atlantic coast. Life-threatening surf and rip current conditions are likely in these areas during the next couple of days, the hurricane centre said.

The National Weather Service earlier posted a coastal flood advisory and warned of a high risk for rip currents along the Atlantic Coast until Monday evening, saying they “can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water”.

A warning extended from Florida to the Boston area and portions of Maine.

In periods of high risk, rip currents become more likely and potentially more frequent, posing a danger to all levels of swimmers, not just inexperienced ones, said meteorologist Mike Lee in Mount Holly, New Jersey.

“It’s going to be really dangerous out in the water today,” he said.

At Manasquan Inlet in New Jersey, officials said a fisherman was washed off the north jetty on Saturday but was quickly rescued by lifeguards. The victim had knee and back injuries and a possible concussion and was taken to a hospital, Lifeguard Chief Doug Anderson told NJ Advance Media, and lifeguards rescued at least five other people.

In Ventnor to the south, Senior Lieutenant Meghan Holland of the city beach patrol said eight people were rescued.

Forecasters, citing local emergency management, said a 41-year-old man drowned on Saturday in a rip current at Surf City, North Carolina.

Two men drowned on Friday in separate incidents on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, but it was unclear whether rip currents were involved, The Island Packet of Hilton Head reported, citing a lifeguard services spokesperson.

The rough surf contributed to an unoccupied beach house along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore on North Carolina’s Outer Banks collapsing into the water on Friday evening. Seashore officials urged the public Sunday to avoid beaches in parts of the village of Rodanthe where “substantial damage” to several oceanfront structures has occurred. Debris clean-up was expected over the next several days.

Flash flood warnings were posted for parts of Connecticut and southeastern New York, and flash flood watches and advisories were in effect for areas of Delaware, New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania, with forecasters warning of floods in low-lying areas.

Flooding in parts of western Connecticut closed roads, forced water rescues and caused a minor mudslide on Sunday.

The Southbury Police Department asked residents in a Facebook post to stay at home while roads were closed and crews responded to emergencies. In nearby Danbury, city officials said in a statement that a mudslide prompted the evacuation of a home.

On New York’s Long Island, East Hampton Village Mayor Jerry Larsen said beaches were closed to swimmers on Saturday and Sunday because high tides pushed water right up to the base of the dunes “so you can’t really have people sitting on the beach”.

The annual fireworks show that draws thousands was cancelled on Saturday night and again for Sunday night, Larsen said.

At a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Bermuda Security Minister Michael Weeks said the tiny British territory made it through the hurricane without any injuries or major incidents. “I want to express my gratitude to everyone for taking this storm seriously,” he said.

Steady progress is being made to clear the roads and restore power in Bermuda, he added. Businesses were beginning to reopen and airport operations were to resume Sunday.

There were no reports of major damage, said Lyndon Raynor of Bermuda’s Disaster Risk Reduction Mitigation Team. BELCO, Bermuda’s power company, said 50 per cent of customers had electricity but more than 8,000 remained without it on Sunday.

Ernesto previously battered the northeastern Caribbean, leaving tens of thousands of people without water in Puerto Rico. The national power company LUMA said it had restored electricity to more than 1.4 million customers, but service data on Sunday showed more than 55,000 without power.

After cleaning up and removing debris, the Virgin Islands Department of Education said all public schools would resume operations on Monday. Public school classes also were expected to start on Monday in Puerto Rico, nearly a week after the original opening date.