Hurricane Ernesto: Natural Hazards

Tropical Storm Ernesto formed in the eastern Caribbean Sea on August 24, 2006. Within a day, it had become organized enough to be classified as a tropical storm and get named as the fifth storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season. Ernesto built in power gradually as it moved westward and slightly north through the Caribbean Sea, just reaching hurricane strength as it neared Hispaniola on August 27. However, the interactions of the storm with land robbed Ernesto of enough power for it to be downgraded back to tropical-storm status. It remained a tropical storm as it passed over the southern tip of Haiti, traveled along the spine of mountains that run the length of Cuba, and crossed the Straits of Florida. Ernesto made landfall in southern Florida on August 30, and it was predicted head northeastward into the Atlantic and then come back ashore near the South Carolina-North Carolina border.