Rainfall: Storm total rainfall amounts of 125 to 250 mm are possible over portions of central and northern Florida through Friday, with isolated maximum amounts of 380 mm possible.
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If Hermine becomes a hurricane, it would be the first to hit the state since Wilma in 2005.
In Charleston County, emergency officials have a message for residents: Stay home on Friday.
In advance of the storm, Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency.
Forecasters say Alabama’s coast should receive only a glancing blow from Tropical Storm Hermine, but officials are still taking precautions.
Late this morning, Hermine was packing top sustained winds of 65 mph, with tropical storm force winds extending outward up to 140 miles from the center, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.
If you have heightened interests in the impacted area, please follow local media outlets in the Tallahassee TV market for continuing coverage as the storm makes landfall.
A hurricane warning was in effect for Florida’s Big Bend from the Suwannee River to Mexico Beach. That flood made the road they depend on impassable, resident Misty Hale said.
In one, a man paddleboards down a street.
On Thursday, the Tallahassee Democrat reported that in addition to evacuations being ordered for Franklin County residents living on St. George Island, Dog Island, Alligator Point and Bald Point, as well as other low-lying areas, Wakulla County has now issued evacuation orders for residents in low-lying coastal homes south of US 98 and 319.
Ten offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico were also evacuated ahead of the storm.
In Tampa, the Buccaneers’ final preseason National Football League game against the Washington Redskins was moved up from Thursday night to Wednesday so that the game could be played well before the storm’s arrival.
Meteorologists warned that the storm still demands close monitoring, as its forecast track could continue to shift over the next few days. Nearby Manatee County also closed schools.
The National Weather Service in Honolulu has issued a wind advisory.
With the tropical storm approaching, intensifying winds threaten to make outside preparations “difficult or risky”, it added.
Hermine’s maximum sustained winds Thursday morning are near 60 miles per hour (95 kph).
Five to 10 inches will be possible in parts of northwest Florida and southern Georgia through Friday, the hurricane center said.
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Curry said he would declare a state of emergency beginning 5 p.m. Thursday to give the city more access to resources to deal with the storm, according to WOKV.com.
