SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico –
Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane on Wednesday as it dropped torrential rain on Puerto Rico and left nearly half of all clients in the U.S. territory without power as it threatened to strengthen into a major storm en route to Bermuda.
The storm was located about 175 miles (280 kilometres) northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico and was moving over open waters. It had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph (120 kph) and was moving northwest at 16 mph (26 kph).
“The official forecast still reflects the possibility of Ernesto becoming a major hurricane in about 48 hours,” the National Hurricane Center said late Wednesday morning.
A tropical storm warning was in effect for Puerto Rico and its outlying islands of Vieques and Culebra and for the U.S. and British Virgin Islands.
“I know it was a long night listening to that wind howl,” U.S. Virgin Islands Gov. Albert Bryan …