Tropical Storm Ernesto Becomes Hurricane Ernesto
Like most of us in life, hurricanes take time to organize themselves. What starts off as a loosely organized low-pressure area off the coast of Africa slowly tries to organize itself into a hurricane before it strikes civilization to the west. The latest is Tropical Storm Ernesto, which became Hurricane Ernesto, threatening sailing interests while passing by the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
Tropical Storm Ernesto first passed by Antigua and Guadeloupe with heavy rains and strong winds causing some damage before becoming a Category 1 hurricane and moving on to the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. Here it has knocked out power and caused some flash flooding.
The seasonally warm waters of the Caribbean allow these storms to intensify quickly. At present Ernesto continues to batter Puerto Rico and surrounding islands before its predicted move offshore and north, missing the Bahamas and East Coast.
The island of Bermuda looks as if it’s the next to be threatened, and, as sometimes happens, the hurricane might make its way north to finish off Nova Scotia.
