Ernesto gains strength over open Atlantic. Unrelated downpours in Connecticut lead to rescues

Ernesto picked up strength as a hurricane early Monday as it headed farther out in the Atlantic toward easternmost Canada, but the storm is expected to stay offshore, causing powerful swells, dangerous surf and rip currents along the U.S. East Coast, the National Hurricane Center said.

In an unrelated storm, as much as 10 inches (25.4 centimeters) of rain washed away roads, flooded basements and led to rescues in Connecticut, the National Weather Service said.

Ernesto’s maximum sustained winds increased overnight to near 85 mph (140 kph), with higher gusts, the hurricane center said. It is expected to weaken and become a post-tropical storm by Tuesday, the center said.

The storm was centered about 340 miles (550 kilometers) south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was expected to pass near southeastern Newfoundland late Monday and early Tuesday, the center said. Some coastal flooding in Canada was possible.

But people along the Northeast’s coast should be careful, the center said.

“We would certainly encourage anyone going to beaches, really, anywhere along the U.S. East Coast to just pay attention to whatever flags are up, whatever lifeguards are saying, and stay out of the water if it’s not safe,” David Zelinksy, lead meteorologist with the hurricane center, said Monday.

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Swells generated by Ernesto were affecting portions of the Bahamas, Bermuda and the U.S. East Coast, as well as the Canadian Atlantic coast. Life-threatening surf and rip current conditions are likely in these areas during the next couple of days, the hurricane center said.

The weather service posted a coastal flood advisory and warned of a high risk for rip currents along the Atlantic Coast through Monday evening, saying they “can sweep even the best swimmers away from shore into deeper water.”

A warning extended from Florida to the Boston area and portions of Maine.

Meanwhile, slow-moving storms caused downpours over southwest Connecticut and in Suffolk County, New York, on Sunday.

Two people were swept away by flooding in the town of Oxford, Connecticut, on Sunday and remained missing Monday, authorities said. Oxford Fire Chief Scott Pellitier said one person was in a car and the other was clinging to a sign when a rapid stream of water swept them away.

Firefighters rescued more than a dozen people from a flooded restaurant in Beacon Falls, Connecticut, about 5 miles east of Oxford, on Sunday. Floodwaters trapped 18 people inside the Brookside Inn Restaurant, and there were concerns that the restaurant’s structure might be compromised. Firefighters used an aerial ladder to get the people out of the restaurant and rescue a resident in a nearby apartment.

“The water is literally enveloping this whole restaurant. There was no where for them to go,” said Jeremy Rodrigo, a volunteer firefighter in Beacon Falls. “And we were worried about the structural integrity of the restaurant because there are literally cars floating by and large objects that were hitting the building.”

In Southbury, police asked residents via Facebook to stay home while roads were closed and crews responded to emergencies. In nearby Danbury, city officials said in a statement that a mudslide prompted the evacuation of a home.

Flash flood warnings were posted for parts of Connecticut and southeastern New York, and flash flood watches and advisories were in effect for areas of Delaware, New Jersey and southeastern Pennsylvania

“The threat of flash flooding is expected to be lower today,” said James Tomasini, a meteorologist with the weather service. It’s expected to be dry the rest of the week, he said.

Over the weekend, Ernesto initially had weakened to a tropical storm late Saturday after bringing heavy rain and strong winds to Bermuda, but no injuries or major incidents, Bermuda Security Minister Michael Weeks said Sunday afternoon,

Ernesto previously battered the northeastern Caribbean, leaving tens of thousands of people without water in Puerto Rico.

After cleaning up and removing debris, the Virgin Islands Department of Education said all public schools would resume operations Monday. Public school classes also were slated to start Monday in Puerto Rico, nearly a week after the original opening date.

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Contributing to this report were Associated Press journalists Gary Robertson in Raleigh, North Carolina; Cedar Attanasio, Julie Walker and Karen Matthews in New York; and Mariana Martínez Barba in Mexico City.