Hurricane Ernesto will come dangerously close to Bermuda this weekend as it passes through the western Atlantic Ocean. While the storm itself won't hit the United States, the storm's rough surf will reach the East Coast and bring a threat for dangerous rip currents from Florida to Maine.
Ernesto is strengthening on approach to the tiny island of Bermuda, which sits about 650 miles east of South Carolina.
Forecasters expect the storm to come close to major hurricane status before brushing just west of Bermuda Friday night into Saturday, putting the island in a vulnerable position for damaging winds and storm surge flooding.
The storm will continue heading north-northeast through the western Atlantic and eventually threaten Newfoundland with high winds and heavy rain by early next week.
Even though the storm is going to miss the United States, folks along the coast will experience some dangerous impacts from this storm. Hurricanes generate high waves that can travel hundreds and even thousands of miles away from the storm. These waves bring with them a risk for rip currents beginning tonight and lasting through the weekend.
Rip currents are strong channels of water that pull away from the beach and directly out to sea. They don't pull you under like in the movies—they drag you away from safe shores in a hurry. People can quickly exhaust themselves fighting against the current, and that's when they run the risk of drowning.
Just about every beach from Florida to Maine has a risk for rip currents this weekend, especially in places like North Carolina, Virginia, and the Delmarva Peninsula.
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| Source: NOAA |
Please stay out of the water if told to do so by local officials. They're not kidding when they say it's unsafe to swim. Lifeguards on a single beach can conduct dozens of water rescues every day as a result of people failing to heed red flag warnings for rip currents.
Rip currents look like calm patches of water amid otherwise rough surf. This apparent serenity lulls swimmers into a false sense of complacency, luring them into the ocean only to find themselves caught in a rip current.
If you're ever caught in a rip current, don't panic. Calmly signal for help. If you're a capable swimmer, swim parallel to the shore until the current stops dragging you out, then swim straight back to the beach. If you can't swim, tread water until help arrives. Don't struggle directly against the current. It's too strong for even the strongest swimmer to conquer.
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