Hurricane Ernesto brings dangerous beach conditions to East Coast

Ernesto regained hurricane status Sunday as it continued to move offshore along the East Coast, where there was a significant risk of dangerous conditions at beaches.

Life-threatening surf and rip currents are possible in the Bahamas, Bermuda and on the Atlantic’s western shores for the next few days, forecasters said.

Here are key things to know about the storm.

— The storm made landfall in Bermuda as a Category 1 hurricane around 4:30 a.m. Saturday, according to the U.S. National Weather Service. It weakened into a tropical storm as it moved away from Bermuda on Saturday night, after making landfall in the morning and bringing significant rain. No major damage was reported.

— Ernesto was not expected to approach the mainland United States, but because of the risk it posed on the coast, several beaches were closed in New York City on Sunday. Two men drowned hours apart off the shore of Hilton Head Island in South Carolina on Friday, officials said.

— President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration in Puerto Rico, where hundreds of thousands of customers served by the island’s utility were left without power when Ernesto moved through last week.

Bermuda began returning to normal Sunday, a day after Hurricane Ernesto battered the island with fierce winds and heavy rain. The storm’s eye lingered directly over Bermuda for more than two hours, subjecting residents to an extended period of eerie calm followed by renewed turbulence.

After the storm, residents joined government workers in clearing trees and debris from roads.

The Causeway, the only road from the main island to the airport, reopened for traffic at 9 a.m. The L.F. Wade International Airport had also reopened after closing Friday night, and most major thoroughfares were passable.

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

BELCO, Bermuda’s sole electricity provider, said power failures affected more than 11,500 customers.

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.

The New York City 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 North Carolina, crashing waves spawned by Ernesto contributed to the collapse of an unoccupied house into the ocean, officials said.

Last week, Ernesto brought up to 10 inches of rain to parts of Puerto Rico, the weather service said.

The storm knocked out power to more than 600,000 customers. Luma Energy, which distributes electricity in the territory, said Sunday morning that more than 62,000 customers were still without power.

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

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 Nina.

La Nina 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.

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