Ernesto reclaimed hurricane status Sunday as it spun in the open Atlantic Ocean and created life-threatening surf and rip currents for much of the East Coast.

The hurricane was downgraded to a tropical storm Saturday night as its maximum sustained winds, estimated at 70 mph, didn’t reach hurricane strength. But it regained strength Sunday, generating maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, above the Category 1 hurricane threshold of 74 mph.

Ernesto was spinning about 435 miles south-east of…