Ernesto is expected to hit Bermuda this Saturday as a “major hurricane”

The U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) issued a hurricane warning for Saturday in Bermuda, where Ernesto is heading, having already caused severe flooding and widespread power outages in northern Puerto Rico on Wednesday.

Ernesto made landfall in Puerto Rico yesterday as a Category 1 hurricane and is now moving northwest at 13 miles per hour (20 kilometers per hour). Based on the trajectory pattern, it could become a major hurricane on Friday, with the forecast that by Saturday, when the center of the system passes near Bermuda, it will already be a “major hurricane.”

A dangerous storm surge may produce significant coastal flooding in Bermuda in areas of onshore winds. Near the coast, the surge will be accompanied by large, destructive waves.

Waves generated by Ernesto are affecting portions of the Northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the southeastern Bahamas on Thursday.

These swells will extend toward Bermuda and the rest of the Bahamas later today and will cause waves to reach the East Coast of the United States tonight.

This is the third hurricane of the Atlantic basin hurricane season, which began on June 1 and has produced five tropical storms: Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby and Ernesto.

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