Ernesto picked up strength as a hurricane early Monday as it headed farther out in the Atlantic toward easternmost Canada, but the storm is expected to stay offshore, causing powerful swells, dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast, the National Hurricane Center said.
Ernesto’s maximum sustained winds increased Monday to near 90 mph, with higher gusts, the hurricane center said. It is expected to weaken and become a post-tropical storm by Tuesday, the center said.
The storm was centered about 320 miles southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was expected to pass near southeastern Newfoundland late Monday and early Tuesday, the center said.
People all along the Northeast’s coast should remain careful, the center said.
“We would certainly encourage anyone going to beaches, really, anywhere along the U.S. East Coast to just pay attention to whatever flags are up, whatever lifeguards are saying, and stay out of the water if it’s not safe,” David Zelinksy, lead meteorologist with the hurricane center, said Monday.
On Cape Ann, local surfers and tourists flocked Monday to Long Beach in Gloucester and Rockport to take advantage of the storm-generated waves.
A small craft advisory for the coastal waters east of Ipswich Bay and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is in place Tuesday through 7 p.m.
The National Weather Service posted a coastal flood advisory through Tuesday morning, warning of shallow pockets of flooding less than one foot deep on more vulnerable coastal roads from Salem and Gloucester to Newburyport.
“Rough surf will likely cause some splashover onto coastal roads around the time of high tide,” it said.
The National Weather Service also warned of a high risk for rip currents along the Atlantic Coast, including Cape Ann, through Monday evening, saying they “can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water.”
In periods of high risk, rip currents become more likely and potentially more frequent, posing a danger to all levels of swimmers, not just inexperienced ones, said meteorologist Mike Lee in Mount Holly, New Jersey.
“It’s going to be really dangerous out in the water today,” he said.
The National Weather Service advised swimmers to stay near a lifeguard.
“If caught in a rip current, relax and float. Don’t swim against the current. If able, swim in a direction following the shoreline. If unable to escape, face the shore and call or wave for help,” it said.