The latest storm news from USA Today said that storm No. 5 formed in the Atlantic Ocean on August 12 as it moved across the open sea towards the Caribbean islands.
Storm forecasters say that most of the US mainland will not be affected by the latest storm in the context that the US has just been affected by storm No. 4 Debby.
According to the storm bulletin updated at 8:00 p.m. on August 12 by the US National Hurricane Center, storm Ernesto is about 370km southeast of Antigua - one of the large islands in the Leeward archipelago and 850km southeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico. . With sustained winds of 64 km/h, storm Ernesto is moving west at a speed of 45 km/h.
Current storm forecasts show that storm No. 5 Ernesto will strengthen into a level 1 hurricane when it passes through warm waters - the main factor that increases the possibility of the 2024 storm season being more intense than normal.
"Ocean temperatures across the Atlantic basin remain near record levels," AccuWeather meteorologist Alex DaSilva said. AccuWeather storm forecasters indicated that Ernesto is likely to strengthen into a severe hurricane with sustained winds of at least 180 km/h as it moves north through Puerto Rico over the weekend.
According to the latest storm forecast , Storm No. 5 Ernesto is expected to approach the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico on the evening of August 13. The system is then expected to move out of Puerto Rico across the western Atlantic by midweek.
By August 15, storm No. 5 may become a hurricane when it turns east and moves north into the Atlantic Ocean. Forecaster Brennan said Ernesto is expected to approach Bermuda on the morning of August 17 as a "severe hurricane".
Ernesto is the latest storm in a hurricane season that experts predict will be very active.
Last week, in an updated storm forecast, experts at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that the likelihood of a more intense than normal Atlantic hurricane season has increased to 90%. .
The seasonal storm forecast updated by NOAA predicts between 17 and 24 named storms, of which 8-13 will strengthen into hurricanes this year.
Up to now, the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season has had 4 storms forming, including super storm Beryl - the earliest level 5 storm in Atlantic history and the most recent storm is storm No. 4 Debby.
