Ernesto could become a dangerous Gulf hurricane

MIAMI, Aug 26 (Reuters) The fifth tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, Ernesto, could become a dangerously powerful hurricane in the oil-producing Gulf of Mexico next week, US forecasters said today.

The US National Hurricane Center said forecasting Ernesto's future strength was riddled with uncertainty.

But very warm waters in its path as it approached the Gulf, where a quarter of US crude oil and natural gas production is located, could lead to significant strengthening around the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the Miami-based center said.

''This could result in Ernesto becoming a powerful hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico,'' said hurricane center forecaster Lixion Avila in a bulletin on the storm.

Jamaica and the Cayman Islands issued hurricane watches as Ernesto bore down. A hurricane watch means hurricane conditions can be expected within 36 hours.

The hurricane center said Ernesto could be near hurricane strength, with winds of at least 74 miles per hour, as it passed Jamaica tomorrow, en route to the wealthy British dependency of the Cayman Islands.

If it does become a hurricane, it will be the first of the six-month hurricane season, which began June 1.

Located around 250 miles (405 km) south-southwest of Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, by 11 am EDT (1500 GMT), Ernesto's forecast track could take it over the western tip of Cuba by Tuesday.

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