While no longer threatening landfall, Hurricane Ernesto’s lingering effects are bringing dangerous conditions to the Us East Coast, with powerful swells generating strong rip currents and coastal flooding, CBS News reports.
Ernesto, which weakened to a tropical storm before regaining hurricane strength on Sunday, is churning further into the Atlantic Ocean. However, the storm’s powerful swells are creating hazardous rip currents along the coastline from Florida to Maine, prompting the National Weather Service to issue coastal flood advisories and warnings.
“It’s going to be really dangerous out in the water today,” warned Meteorologist Mike Lee of the weather service office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, emphasizing the high risk of rip currents.
The powerful currents, which can sweep even strong swimmers out to sea, have already led to several rescues and at least one fatality. In New Jersey, a fisherman was rescued after being washed off the north jetty at Manasquan Inlet, while lifeguards across the state saved multiple people caught in the currents. In Surf City, North Carolina, a 41-year-old man drowned in a rip current on Saturday.
The rough surf also contributed to the collapse of an unoccupied beach house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina on Friday evening.
Flash flood warnings are in effect for parts of Connecticut and southeastern New York, while flash flood watches and advisories are in place for areas of Delaware, New Jersey, and southeastern Pennsylvania.
Ernesto is expected to strengthen again as it continues its northeastward journey across the Atlantic. The storm previously made landfall in Bermuda as a Category 1 hurricane, causing power outages, downed trees, and heavy rainfall. While Ernesto is no longer a direct threat to the US, authorities are urging residents to exercise caution near the coast and heed warnings about rip currents and potential flooding.
