Hurricane Ernesto to strengthen; Bermuda braces for 'the power of nature'

After battering Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Hurricane Ernesto on Thursday churned in the western Atlantic toward Bermuda, threatening to intensify into a major hurricane before reaching the British territory.

Ernesto, now a Category 1 hurricane, was located 570 miles south-southwest of Bermuda with sustained winds of 85 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center's 11 a.m. update. Moving at 14 mph, the storm is expected to begin dumping heavy rain over Bermuda on Friday before passing near or over the archipelago on Saturday.

"Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion," the hurricane center said, warning that some parts of Bermuda could see up to a foot of rain, which may cause "considerable life-threatening flash flooding." Forecasters expect Ernesto to become a major hurricane with sustained winds of at least 111 mph as early as Friday.

Meanwhile, residents and authorities across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands recovered from Wednesday's deluge. At its peak, half of Puerto Rico's utility customers – as many as 730,000 – were in the dark. As of Thursday morning, just over 445,000 homes and businesses were still without power, according to the LUMA Energy website.

Flood warnings were still in effect across Puerto Rico as rivers continue to crest and threaten neighborhoods and low-lying areas. Over the last 48 hours, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands received half-a-foot of rain, while the total for parts of southeastern Puerto Rico climbed to 10 inches.

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Developments:

∎ Swells likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions will spread toward Bermuda and the rest of the Bahamas on Thursday, according to the National Hurricane Center. Such swells were expected to reach the eastern coast of the continental U.S. by Thursday night and will continue through the weekend.

∎ A heat advisory is in effect across northern Puerto Rico as high humidity and temperatures settle over the territory, worsening conditions for the hundreds-of-thousands of people still without power. "A period of dangerously hot and humid conditions are expected," the weather service in San Juan warned on Thursday.

∎ As Ernesto moves through the Atlantic, it continues to disrupt cruise ships. This week, several Carnival and Norwegian cruises had their itineraries altered by the intensifying storm, with some skipping stops in Puerto Rico or avoiding the eastern Caribbean altogether.

Bermuda resident prepares, but isn't panicking, as Ernesto approaches

Jason Lawrence spent all of Wednesday preparing for Hurricane Ernesto. The lifelong Bermuda resident had four of his boats taken out of the water and tied down before he lugged his outdoor furniture inside his house and nailed plywood over the windows.

The 38-year-old also helped his parents and brother secure their homes. At his grocery store, M. Soares & Sons, in the Spanish Point neighborhood, he unpacked deliveries of water, bread, batteries and canned goods on Thursday.

“I feel like most people are all getting their plywood and bunkering down today," he said. "This afternoon and tomorrow should be pretty busy for us in the grocery stores."

Lawrence plans to weather the storm at his home on the north shore, just yards away from the ocean, with his wife and two boys, ages 1 and 6.

“We don’t really start to panic unless it gets up into a category three,” he said. “The structures down here are different from those in the States. The houses stand up well so once you’re all packed up you’re pretty good."

Bermuda braces for 'the power of nature'

Bermuda Minister of National Security Michael Weeks warned residents and tourists in a news conference on Wednesday that they should begin preparing immediately for the arrival of Hurricane Ernesto.

Weeks said the storm will unleash a barrage of dangerous weather conditions including flooding rain, high storm surge and strong winds that bring a "high likelihood of the loss of electricity across the island."

“While Bermuda has been fortunate in recent years to avoid the worst impacts of hurricanes, we have to take each storm seriously and prepare accordingly,” he said. “It only takes one storm to cause significant damage and disrupt our way of life.”

He urged people to secure their property, including outdoor furniture and boats and said they should stock up on food, medicine and batteries. Weeks added that officials on Thursday will meet and then make decisions regarding the operations of the main island’s causeway, airport and public transportation services.

“Do not be lulled into thinking that you can wait until the last minute – the window to prepare is closing rapidly“ he said. "This is not the time to underestimate the power of nature.”

Recovery operations underway across US Virgin Islands

While workers across the U.S. Virgin Islands continued restoring power, officials announced Wednesday night that government offices would reopen but public schools will remain closed “for continued cleanup and safety checks.”

Crews were able to make progress restoring power after the storm caused a total blackout on the island of St. Croix and sweeping outages across St. John. Karl Knight, chief executive officer of the U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority, said 75% of utility customers on St. Croix were expected to have their power restored by Wednesday night. Outages were ongoing across St. John but were expected to be repaired in the coming days.

“Today has been a very successful day – we got off to a slow start but I think we picked up momentum as we headed into the evening hours," he said.

Meanwhile, airports on St. Croix and St. Thomas successfully reopened at noon on Wednesday, though delays were still being reported. Officials on Thursday were also scheduled to complete assessments of the ports throughout the U.S. Virgin Islands so ferry and barge operations could resume.

Dangerous rip currents, life-threatening surf expected along East Coast

Although Ernesto is forecast to remain well offshore from the mainland U.S., authorities have warned of an increased risk of life-threatening surf and rip currents along East Coast beaches as the storm churns toward Bermuda.

Swells from the storm are expected to reach the area later in the week and into the weekend, according to the National Hurricane Center.

"Beachgoers should be aware of a significant risk of life-threatening surf and rip currents, and stay out of the water if advised by lifeguards," the hurricane center advised. "Surf and rip currents are also possible on the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas during the next few days."

Where is Hurricane Ernesto?

'Peak of hurricane season is right around the corner'

In a revised forecast issued earlier this month, the federal government said a "highly active" hurricane season was likely to continue in the Atlantic.

"Atmospheric and oceanic conditions have set the stage for an extremely active hurricane season that could rank among the busiest on record," the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its forecast.

The NOAA predicted 17 to 24 named storms with about 8 to 13 becoming hurricane-strength, over the average 14 named storms and seven hurricanes. Those numbers include four other storms that formed this year, including the deadly Hurricane Beryl and Tropical Storm Debby.

Residents and authorities across the eastern U.S. have still been recovering from Debby, which caused dangerous floods in western New York and Pennsylvania. Last month, Beryl became the earliest Category 5 Atlantic hurricane on record — devastating parts of the Caribbean and at one point, leaving over 1.3 million homes and businesses without power in Texas.

"The hurricane season got off to an early and violent start with Hurricane Beryl, the earliest category-5 Atlantic hurricane on record," NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said in a statement. "NOAA’s update to the hurricane seasonal outlook is an important reminder that the peak of hurricane season is right around the corner, when historically the most significant impacts from hurricanes and tropical storms tend to occur."

Contributing: Jorge L. Ortiz, Doyle Rice, and Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY; Reuters