Both the western Pacific and the western Atlantic have seen tropical cyclones strengthening this week with Typhoon Ampil in the western tropical Pacific and Hurricane Ernesto in the western tropical Atlantic.
Ernesto is the fifth named storm to form in the tropical Atlantic in 2024 and has already caused severe disruption in Puerto Rico with almost 1 million people left without power as winds gusting more than 80mph battered the island. One weather station in Puerto Rico recorded more than 10 inches (about 250mm) of rain from Ernesto.
After passing Puerto Rico, Hurricane Ernesto diverted northwards away from the Bahamas and Cuba and is now on a trajectory towards Bermuda. A hurricane warning has been issued for Bermuda as Ernesto is forecast to strengthen as it moves over the very warm Atlantic waters to a category 2 or possibly 3 hurricane before the centre of the hurricane is set to pass close to or may even make landfall with Bermuda on Saturday.
Parts of Bermuda are likely to see up to 12 inches of rain (300mm) by early Sunday as the hurricane pushes across. Strong winds from Ernesto will also batter Bermuda with sustained winds of 85mph and gusts of about 110mph, generating a strong storm surge with waves of more than 10ft (3m).
After clearing Bermuda, Ernesto will continue pushing northwards until it is expected to reach the north-east of Canada early next week. By this point it will have weakened to a post-tropical cyclone, but is still likely to bring strong winds and heavy rain to the area.
In the western tropical Pacific, Storm Ampil developed into a typhoon earlier this week and will pass close to Tokyo today, as the centre of the cyclone brushes close to the east coast of Japan, though it will divert eastwards before making landfall. Near the centre of the typhoon sustained winds of up to 138mph are forecast, making it equivalent to a category 4 hurricane.
Though the centre of the typhoon is very unlikely to make landfall with Japan, many flights and bullet trains have been cancelled as wind gusts are still expected to reach more than 80mph along coastal areas, and 200mm of rain is expected to fall in 24 hours. After moving away from Japan Ampil is forecast to have an uneventful finish as it continues travelling eastwards across the Pacific and weakens.
