A hurricane is rolling through the Atlantic, and Delaware should start feeling its impact through the weekend.
After hitting Puerto Rico early Wednesday, Ernesto became a Category 1 hurricane. As of 11 a.m. ET, Ernesto was located 175 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, with sustained winds of 75 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The storm that dumped several inches of rain on Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and cut power to more than a half-million homes and businesses is moving toward Bermuda and should be around the islands on Saturday.
How will Hurricane Ernesto impact Delaware?
While the storm is not expected to make landfall in the United States, it will impact the Atlantic coast by bringing large waves and dangerous rip currents.
The long-range marine forecast from the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, is predicting waves to increase in size starting on Friday. Seas will go from 2-foot waves on Thursday morning to 4 to 6 feet on Friday night. Waves will be at the 4- to 6-foot level through the weekend.
The larger waves could lead to dangerous rip currents at Delaware’s beaches.
“Even though the storm is hundreds of miles away, you still get dangerous rip currents,” Cameron Wunderlin, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, said in an interview Monday. “That’s something we’ll be watching.”
Wunderlin added if the wave height predicted causes strong rip currents, beachgoers should not go in the water.
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What is a rip current?
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, rip currents are channeled currents of water that flow away from the shore out past the line of breaking waves. They form from water piling up between the breaking waves and the beach. As the water returns from the shore, it forms a narrow stream of water that moves quickly out to sea.
What to do in a rip current
According to the United States Lifesaving Association, swimmers should do the following:
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Relax, rip currents don’t pull you under.
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Don’t swim against the current.
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You may be able to escape by swimming out of the current in a direction following the shoreline, or toward breaking waves, then at an angle toward the beach.
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You may be able to escape by floating or treading water if the current circulates back toward shore.
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If you feel you will be unable to reach shore, draw attention to yourself. If you need help, yell and wave for assistance.
This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Hurricane Ernesto path: When will Delaware be impacted?
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