Ernesto strengthens into a hurricane [Video]

Ernesto strengthened into a hurricane Wednesday morning just north of Puerto Rico as it continues to unload flooding rainfall and strong winds that have left hundreds of thousands without power there and in the Virgin Islands.The Category 1 hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph as of 11 a.m., according to the National Hurricane Center. Its center was about 175 miles northwest of San Juan, Puerto Rico, Wednesday morning after passing over the Virgin Islands on Tuesday and then sidestepping Puerto Rico.Strong winds extend far from its center and have gusted in excess of 74 mph – hurricane-strength – in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands since before it became a hurricane.As a result, more than 600,000 customers in Puerto Rico – nearly half of all customers on the island – were without power Wednesday, according to LUMA Energy, the private company that operates the transmission and distribution …