Hurricane Ernesto brings strong winds, heavy rains to Bermuda

Hurricane Ernesto made landfall on the western side of Bermuda early Saturday as a powerful Category 1 storm, bringing significant rain. The storm was beginning to move away from Bermuda on Saturday night but tropical storm conditions persisted.

Bermuda had received nearly 6 inches of rain and could record another 3 inches Saturday, the Bermuda Weather Service said. The U.S. Weather Service warned of the potential for “considerable” life-threatening flooding.

Heavy rain and strong winds arrived on the main island Friday afternoon and were expected to last through Saturday night. Large, destructive waves were expected near the coast. The Bermuda government posted footage Saturday morning of the waves pounding against the rocky shore.

A tropical storm warning was issued for Bermuda on Saturday afternoon as the storm moved north-northeast, forecasters said.

There were no reports of major damage or injuries as of Saturday afternoon, officials said, though many households found themselves in the dark.

BELCO, Bermuda’s sole electricity provider, said power failures affected more than 22,000 customers. The utility said its crews would resume work on restoring power as soon as conditions improved.

The storm made landfall around 4:30 a.m., according to the U.S. National Weather Service. Its location put the territory in the worst area of the hurricane for an extended period of time: Often the “right” side of an eye wall – in this case the eastern edge – delivers the strongest winds and storm surge.

The storm prompted a near-total shutdown of Bermuda’s transportation services. Ferry services were suspended, and bus services were halted Friday evening. L.F. Wade International Airport closed Friday night and said it would reopen Sunday.

Bermuda is well-practiced in dealing with hurricane-force winds, but before Ernesto it had only experienced a direct hit nine times since 1851, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s historical hurricane database. The last storm to make landfall on Bermuda was Paulette on Sept. 14, 2020, which caused minimal property damage.

The most memorable Bermuda hurricane of the 21st century didn’t make landfall: Hurricane Fabian instead passed just to the west of the territory on Sept. 5, 2003, killing four sailors and forcing a quarter of Bermuda’s hotels and guesthouses to close for repairs.

Ernesto was not expected to approach the mainland United States, but forecasters warned that swells and rip currents were likely to affect the East Coast through the weekend.

The New York office of the weather service warned swimmers to stay out of the water. Beaches in Queens and Brooklyn were closed Saturday and Sunday to swimming because of dangerous rip currents, the mayor’s office said.

On Friday, two men, ages 65 and 73, drowned hours apart off the shore of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office said.

Lifeguards recovered both men, who were believed to have been caught in riptides, though authorities said they could not confirm whether the deaths were tied to Ernesto.

“We do have rip currents at different times throughout the year,” Master Sgt. Daniel Allen said in an email.

In the Outer Banks of North Carolina, crashing waves spawned by Ernesto contributed to the collapse of an unoccupied house into the ocean, officials said.

This past week, Ernesto brought up to 10 inches of rain to parts of Puerto Rico. President Joe Biden on Wednesday approved an emergency declaration in Puerto Rico.

The storm knocked out power to more than 600,000 customers. Luma Energy, which distributes electricity in the territory, said Saturday night that a little under 100,000 customers were still without power.

Forecasters have warned that the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season could be much more active than usual.

Earlier this month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration continued its forecast of 17 to 24 named storms this year, an “above-normal” number and a prediction in line with more than a dozen forecasts earlier in the year from experts at universities, private companies and government agencies.

Hurricane seasons produce 14 named storms on average from June 1 through Nov. 30.

The seasonal hurricane outlooks were notably aggressive, because forecasters looking at the start of the season saw a combination of circumstances that didn’t exist in records dating back to the mid-1800s: record warm water temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and the potential formation of the weather pattern known as La Niña.

La Niña occurs in the Pacific because of changing ocean temperatures, and it affects weather patterns globally.

When it is strong, it typically provides a calm environment in the Atlantic. This allows storms to develop more easily and to strengthen without interference from wind patterns that might otherwise keep them from organizing.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.