Hurricane Ernesto weakens, but still dangerous, as it closes in on Bermuda

Hurricane Ernesto was weakening as it closed in on Bermuda early on Saturday, downgraded to a Category 1 storm but still threatening the British island territory with powerful winds, a dangerous storm surge and potentially deadly flooding. The storm was slowly making its way toward the Atlantic archipelago, its center due to pass near or over Bermuda on Saturday morning, with the worst of the storm surge and flash flood potential expected later in the day, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. As of 11 p.m. Atlantic Standard Time on Friday (1100 ET on Saturday), the eye of the storm was 65 miles south-southwest of Bermuda, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Its slow speed — moving north-northeast at 13 mph — and large size means Bermuda could experience a lengthy pummeling on Saturday night, the hurricane center said. It produced maximum sustained winds of up to 90 mph, putting it at the high end of Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson, opens new tab hurricane scale — still packing very dangerous winds that will produce some damage, the hurricane center said. This storm is the real deal,” said Michael Weeks, Bermuda’s national security minister, at a press conference on Friday. By Friday afternoon, Ernesto’s winds had knocked out power for 5,400 of Bermuda’s 36,000 customers, the power utility BELCO said. Swells generated by Ernesto were already affecting parts of Bermuda, the Bahamas, and the east coast of the United States, the hurricane center said. In New York, the city parks and the National Park Service announced that all beaches in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens would be closed to swimmers on Saturday and Sunday with the National Weather Service predicting dangerous rip currents and swells of up to 6 feet (2 meters), the mayor’s office said. – This Summarize was created by Neural News AI (V1). Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/weather/hurricane-ernesto-weakens-still-dangerous-closes-bermuda-rcna166992