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What you should know:

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Lee este artículo en español.

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Torrential rains and gusty winds continue to affect Puerto Rico as Hurricane Ernesto speeds away from the archipelago at 16 miles per hour (mph).

Earlier, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) discontinued the tropical storm warning issued for Puerto Rico in the wake of the tropical system, which has caused flooding and landslides.

Ernesto became a Category 1 hurricane when it was 175 miles northwest of the city of San Juan on Wednesday.

According to the report issued by the NHC, Ernesto was at latitude 21.7 north, longitude 68.3 west as it moved northwestward and maintained winds of 75 mph.

At 11:00 a.m., the tropical cyclone reached 75 mph in sustained winds and was upgraded to a Category 1 hurricane. The newly formed hurricane was at latitude 20.5 north, longitude 67.6 west while moving northwestward at mph.

Currently, Ernesto’s hurricane winds only extend about 35 miles from its center, and therefore do not reach Puerto Rico, although tropical storm winds extended 230 miles.

“The danger of flooding is not over,” reported the director of the National Weather Service (NWS), Ernesto Rodríguez, during a press conference at the government’s emergency operations center.

According to the meteorologist, the rains will continue at least until 4:00 p.m. leaving showers mainly for the western area and then they will begin to diminish. However, the meteorologist stressed that the clear conditions will be accompanied by hot southerly winds that will exacerbate the hot conditions over the island.

At the moment, most of Puerto Rico is under flash flood warnings due to heavy rains that, according to Rodríguez.

At 8:00 a.m. Ernesto was at latitude 19.8 north, longitude 67.2 west with sustained winds of 70 miles per hour (mph) and a translational motion of 16 mph to the northwest.

At 5:00 a.m. the cyclone is at latitude 19.5 north, longitude 66.6 west with a translational motion toward the northwest at about 16 mph and maximum sustained winds of 70 mph.

Although the NHC discontinued the hurricane watch for Vieques and Culebra, both island municipalities and Puerto Rico remain under a tropical storm warning.

Ernesto is expected to become a major hurricane in a few days and on track for the island of Bermuda.

Ernesto will produce a total of four to six inches of rain in Puerto Rico with up to ten inches maximum for the southeast of the island and between two to three for the northwest.

Minor coastal flooding is possible in eastern areas of the island as well as in Vieques and Culebra.

The next report will be issued at 5:00 p.m.

Follow our minute-by-minute report:

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This content was translated from Spanish to English using artificial intelligence and was reviewed by an editor before being published.