Two people who drowned off South Carolina’s Hilton Head Island where rip current warnings related to Hurricane Ernesto were posted have been identified as Ohio men.

Ernesto has regained hurricane status as the storm churns away from Bermuda and heads farther out into the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.

Hurricane Ernesto was being felt this weekend along much of the U.S. Eastern Seaboard, even with the storm hundreds of miles offshore and crossing Bermuda.

Hurricane Ernesto has weakened into a tropical storm as it moves away from Bermuda over open waters of the Atlantic after crossing over the tiny British territory early in the day with heavy rains and strong winds.

Hurricane Ernesto has started to pound Bermuda with heavy winds and rain after officials on the tiny British territory in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean opened shelters and closed government offices.

Hurricane Ernesto will pass hundreds of miles east of Florida, however the large storm will create dangerous beach conditions locally.

A portion of State Road A1A near the Flagler Beach Pier will briefly close as Hurricane Ernesto is expected to create swells near Florida, despite passing far from the coast.

A small taste of “Florida fall” is nearing the area Thursday as a rare cold front ushers in a much drier outlook for the weekend.

Hurricane Ernesto has strengthened into a Category 2 storm as it barrels toward Bermuda after leaving hundreds of thousands of people in Puerto Rico without power or water.

Hurricane Ernesto has dropped torrential rain on Puerto Rico and knocked out power for nearly half of all customers in the U.S. territory.