The storm is located around 320 miles to the southwest of Tampa near Latitude 25.5 North.Longitude 87.4 West. Maximum-sustained winds are at 50 mph.
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A hurricane warning was in effect on Florida’s Gulf Coast from the Suwannee River to Mexico Beach as well as inland areas including Tallahassee.
The timeline is still up in the air, according to forecasters, though the latest data from the National Hurricane Center predicts the storm will be just off the coast of Atlantic City by 7 p.m. Sunday. The center of the storm is expected to be near the Florida coast by early Friday.
Significant flooding is possible with 3 to 6 inches of rain with the greatest flooding threat east of a line from Cordele to Macon to Washington.
The storm has yet to make landfall but has already submerged streets in the coastal town of Gulfport, and dumped more than nine inches of rain on parts of the state.
The National Weather Service in Mobile said winds of up to 25 to 30 miles per hour in gusts will be possible tonight near the coastal areas of Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle.
A tropical storm warning has been issued Wednesday morning for a section of Florida’s Gulf coast as a tropical depression approaches.
A Tropical Storm Watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible within the watch area, generally within 48 hours. The storm will continue to head in a northeasterly direction causing some concern for our region by late Saturday. The brunt of the impacts from Hermine will arrive Friday afternoon into Friday night.
Tropical Storm Warnings are up for many southwest and south-central Georgia.
National Hurricane Center meteorologists say there is a distinct possibility that tropical storm Hermine could become a hurricane before landfall.
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While Hawaii feels the brunt of a weakening Tropical Storm Madeline and prepares for the possibility of a Hurricane Lester, the East Coast is preparing for Tropical Storm Hermine. Tampa-area schools, offices, and businesses were closed as early as Wednesday in preparation for the storm. Residents in other low-lying areas prone to flooding area also being asked to evacuate.
