First hurricane sweeps through Caribbean

Tropical Storm Ernesto strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane today as it steamed through the central Caribbean toward Haiti, becoming the first hurricane of the 2006 Atlantic season.

The storm’s maximum sustained winds increased to 75 mph (121 kph), just above the threshold for a hurricane, said the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Ernesto could grow into a Category 3 hurricane by Thursday, menacing a broad swath of the Gulf Coast including hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, the hurricane centre said earlier. Category 3 Hurricane Katrina struck the city a year ago on Tuesday.

“It looks likely that it will hit (the US), but it’s way too soon to say where” or how much impact it would have, said John Cangialosi, a meteorologist with the hurricane centre.

The southern coast of Haiti issued a hurricane warning as Ernesto’s winds grew early today. A hurricane watch was in effect for Jamaica, the Cayman Islands and Cuba.