At 5 am, Ernesto was about 60 miles SSE of Antigua travelling west at the reduced speed of 20 mph.

At 500 AM  the center of Tropical Storm Ernesto was located near latitude 16.2 North, longitude 61.3 West.

Ernesto is moving toward the west near 20 mph (31 km/h).  A west-northwestward motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected during the next day or so. 

On the forecast track, Ernesto is expected to move across portions of the Leeward Islands this morning and near or over the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico by this evening. 

After passing Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, Ernesto is forecast to turn northward over the western Atlantic.

Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph (65 km/h) with higher gusts.

Gradual strengthening is expected during the next few days, and Ernesto could reach hurricane strength by Thursday over the waters north of the Greater Antilles.

Tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 70 miles (110 km) from the center.  St. Barthelemy recently reported a wind gust of 53 mph (85 km/h).

The estimated minimum central pressure based on surface observations in the Leeward Islands is 1007 mb (29.74 inches).