HAMILTON, Bermuda – Time is quickly running out for residents of Bermuda to finish up last-minute preparations ahead of Hurricane Ernesto’s arrival this weekend, with forecasters saying the island could be slammed with a dangerous storm surge and significant coastal flooding, as well as torrential rain and destructive winds that could put lives at risk.Ernesto’s threat to Bermuda comes after the strengthening hurricane slammed portions of the Caribbean just days ago as a strong tropical storm, with the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands feeling the full force of the storm, including numerous reports of flash flooding, water rescues, power outages and damage to homes and infrastructure.ERNESTO TRACKER: FORECAST CONE, PATH, LIVE CONDITIONS, SPAGHETTI MODELS AND MOREAs Hurricane Ernesto continues to intensify on a path that will bring it near or over Bermuda, residents are being urged to prepare for potentially life-threatening impacts from the storm.”Let me be clear,” Bermuda’s Minister of National Security Hon. Michael Weeks, JP, MP, said during a news conference on Wednesday. “While Bermuda has been fortunate in recent years to avoid the worst impacts of hurricanes, we have to take each storm seriously and prepare accordingly.”According to the latest information from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Ernesto is expected to bring damaging winds, flooding rain and a dangerous storm surge to the island.”As I’ve said before,” Weeks continued. “It only takes one storm to cause significant damage and disrupt our way of life.”Weeks warned that the winds, rain and flooding from Hurricane Ernesto will likely knock out power to residents across the islands.”I cannot stress enough how important it is for every resident to use this time to prepare,” Weeks said. “We have seen in the past the devastating effects of complacency, where lack of preparation has resulted in avoidable tragedies.”SEE THE IMPACTS HURRICANE ERNESTO WILL HAVE ON US COASTAccording to the latest advisory from the NHC, Hurricane Ernesto was located less than 500 miles south-southwest of Bermuda and was moving off to the north.The NHC says that general motion is expected to continue on Thursday, followed by a slower northeastward or north-northeastward motion on Friday and Saturday. On that track, the center of Hurricane Ernesto is expected to pass near or over Bermuda on Saturday.Hurricane Ernesto has maximum sustained winds of 85 mph. According to the NHC, the Category 1 hurricane will continue to intensify and could be near major hurricane (Category 3 or higher) strength by Friday.”Ernesto is forecast to be a large hurricane near Bermuda on Saturday,” the NHC said.2024 ATLANTIC HURRICANE SEASON GUIDE: HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THIS YEAR’S STORMSAccording to the NHC, the Bermuda Weather Service has issued a Hurricane Warning for Bermuda.A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expected somewhere within the warning area, and is typically issued about 36 hours before the impacts from a potential hurricane arrive.”Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion,” the NHC warned.The NHC said Ernesto is expected to produce 4-8 inches of rain, with locally higher amounts of up to a foot possible.”The rainfall may result in considerable life-threatening flash flooding,” the NHC said.NOAA UPDATES HURRICANE FORECAST AS PEAK OF ATLANTIC SEASON APPROACHESAt this time, it doesn’t appear Ernesto will directly impact the mainland U.S. However, large swells generated by Ernesto are expected to reach the East Coast late this week and into the weekend. The large waves will likely cause life-threatening surf and rip currents at beaches.”Swells generated by Ernesto are affecting portions of the northern Leeward Islands, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas,” the NHC said Thursday. “These swells will spread toward Bermuda and the rest of the Bahamas later today. Swells are expected to reach the East Coast of the United States tonight and continue into the weekend.”Download the free FOX Weather app and enable notifications to be alerted to any changes to the forecast for Hurricane Ernesto.The U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have been blasted by the effects of then-Tropical Storm Ernesto as the storm moved across the region Tuesday night and into Wednesday.Numerous Flash Flood Warnings were issued across Puerto Rico, including in San Juan, where FOX Weather Correspondent Nicole Valdes was hunkering down and gathering information on how the storm impacted the island.”Today, where we were looking at one of the major threats for the mainland here was, in fact, all this rain turning into that flood threat,” Valdes said Wednesday. “We’ve seen some of it really pull up in those mountainous regions where you get a lot more rain that falls, but you also have a lot of it that moves, really, into low-lying areas and low-lying rivers.”Valdes reported that more than 700,000 people on the island were without power after the tropical storm passed and strengthened into a hurricane. Nearly 10 inches of rain fell in Naguabo, while the community of Barran picked up over 8 inches. More than a half-foot of rain also fell in Juncos, Villaba and Vieques.Flooding was a major concern in Puerto Rico, and there were reports of people being trapped in vehicles and homes as rushing floodwaters cut off escape routes.Power outages also skyrocketed across the region, with Luma Energy reporting more than 560,000 outages island-wide at the height of the storm.But it wasn’t only Puerto Rico that felt the storm’s effects.The U.S. Virgin Islands were also blasted with strong winds and heavy rain, and a majority of the islands of St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix were without power.According to PowerOutage.us, more than 46,000 power outages were reported during the storm’s peak.Schools were closed across the region on Tuesday, and government officials for the U.S. Virgin Islands said government offices would be closed on Wednesday.Tropical Storm Ernesto made landfall in the British Virgin Islands on Tuesday night with 65-mph winds, making it a strong tropical storm.Video from the area showed the torrential rain and damaging winds whipping across the region as the full effects of Tropical Storm Ernesto were being felt.There were several reports of hurricane-force wind gusts across Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.An 86-mph wind gust was reported in Culebrita, Puerto Rico, as Hurricane Ernesto moved across the region.Hurricane-force wind gusts were also reported in Roosevelt Roads in Puerto Rico and Buck Island in the U.S. Virgin Islands.