The National Weather Service released a statement at 11 a.m. today (Aug. 31), warning that Ernesto is gaining strength over open water.

Ernesto passed over the Florida peninsula as a comparatively docile tropical storm, but it has since shifted into open water northeast of the Florida coast. The storm is currently moving north-northeast at 17 mph, but forecasters with the Weather Service expect it to gain even more speed before striking land in the Carolinas late today or early Friday.

Ernesto currently has sustained winds near 60 mph. Storm surge flooding along the coast is expected to reach three to five feet, and rainfall amounts from four to eight inches are expected in the Mid-Atlantic and southern and central Appalachian states. Isolated areas could see as much as 12 inches of rain.

Five-day projections released by the National Weather Service show the storm hitting land along the North/South Carolina border and traveling north through the Eastern states, with remnants reaching New York by Saturday