Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency Wednesday because of the approaching Tropical Storm Hermine.
Advertisement
Tropical storm winds could reach Florida’s offshore marine areas Thursday morning and have a 50-50 chance of spreading along the Big Bend coastline Thursday evening.
Still, they are preparing for the impacts of Tropical Storm Hermine by putting out sandbags, using their hurricane shutters and staying indoors until the worst of the storm has passed.
A tropical storm warning is in effect for Hawaii and Maui counties. Hermine is 415 miles west-southwest of Tampa, with maximum sustained winds of 40 miles per hour, and is moving north at about 2 miles per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center.
In addition, a Hurricane Watch has been issued for the same location as there will be a possibility that it could be a minimum category 1 hurricane right before landfall sometime between late Thursday night into Friday. After days of threatening to intensify, a tropical depression in the Gulf of Mexico blossomed into a tropical storm Wednesday afternoon. As further data comes in, there could be different shifts, she said. Polk and Sarasota County public schools will be open Thursday. However, astronomical tides will be running high from the new moon on September 1, so less onshore flow is needed for coastal flooding to develop.
SURF: Onshore winds for part or most of Friday will support an enhanced rip current risk.
Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued for Geneva, Henry and Houston counties in southeastern Alabama.
In one video, a man is seen paddleboarding down a street.
Wakulla County schools and the Wakulla County Board of County Commission offices will be closed Thursday and Friday.
“The slower this storm moves, the less of an impact it will have on us”.
In nearby Tampa, the Buccaneers’ final preseason National Football League game against the Washington Redskins was moved from Thursday night to Wednesday in expectation of the storm.
Advertisement
The last time Fayetteville was that close to the center of a projected storm center was Hurricane Fran.
