Tropical Storm Ernesto approaches Caribbean islands, prompting storm warnings

Tropical Storm Ernesto gained strength into a named storm Monday afternoon in the Atlantic, where it threatens Caribbean communities with wind, rain and storm surge.

By Monday evening, the storm was sustaining winds near 40mph with occasionally higher gusts. It was about 530 miles east-southeast of Puerto Rico, moving west at about 28mph.

A tropical storm warning was in effect Monday night for islands in the eastern Caribbean: St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda, Anguilla, Guadeloupe, St. Martin and St. Barthelemy, Sint Maarten, the British Virgin Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico Vieques and Culebra.

Ernesto is expected to move across parts of the Leeward Islands as early as Monday night and closer to The U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by Tuesday.

The storm was forecast to slow down over the next few days.

Hurricane Hunter aircraft are expected to make multiple flights to the storm over the next two days to take measurements and better determine the storm's strength.

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The National Weather Service in Puerto Rico said residents should prepare for potential flash flooding and a storm surge of about 1 foot. Officials also warned of potential power and communication outages.

Eventually, the tropical disturbance is expected to become a hurricane and move north toward Bermuda. As of Monday, it is not expected to threaten the mainland of the U.S. in the next five days.

The disturbance comes during what forecasters predict will be a busy hurricane season. Generally, hurricane activity quickly ramps up in August in the Atlantic, and peaks around Sept. 10.

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