Ernesto becomes hurricane again; dangerous conditions for East Coast beaches

(NEW YORK) — Ernesto was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday night, with the National Hurricane Center warning of dangerous conditions for East Coast beaches.

The hurricane — which over the past week has caused major power outages and flooding in Puerto Rico and Bermuda — is out over the Atlantic, with maximum sustained winds up to 75 mph.

The NHC expects Ernesto to cross southeastern Newfoundland late Monday into Tuesday morning.

Ernesto is the fifth named storm and the third hurricane of this year’s Atlantic season. It made landfall in Bermuda early on Saturday, dumping 7 to 9 inches of rain and flooding parts of the island. The British Overseas Territory avoided major damage, and Ernesto is now some 200 miles northeast of Bermuda.

High surf and life-threatening rip currents are still anticipated over the next couple of days along the U.S. East Coast.

The entire Atlantic coast from Florida to Maine is under a high-risk rip current alert on Sunday.

“Life-threatening surf and rip current conditions are likely,” the National Hurricane Center warned, “which means life-threatening rip currents are likely, and dangerous for all levels of swimmers.”