The Florida Division of Emergency Management continues to actively monitor Tropical Storm Hermine and urges everyone in Florida to remain vigilant and take all necessary precautions as it moves toward the Gulf Coast.
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He says this system is forecast to turn toward Florida today and bring high winds and heavy rain to the Southeast through Saturday.
The Miami-based center says a hurricane hunter plane has determined that a tropical depression strengthened Wednesday into the named storm and Hermine now boasts top sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65 kph).
Giuseppe Manone boards up the windows of a store in Hilo, Hawaii as Hurricane Madeline approached the Big Island on Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2016. Sustained winds reached 35 miles per hour.
As of 5 a.m. ET, a hurricane watch was in effect from Florida’s Anclote River to Indian Pass – with a tropical storm warning in effect from the former to the Walton/Bay County line.
The depression is forecast to hit somewhere along the Big Bend area of Florida either as a strong tropical storm or a weak hurricane Thursday. This means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area. If the rain falls heavy enough over a short period of time, flooding could be a concern.
At 10 AM CDT (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Depression Nine was located near latitude 24.6 North, longitude 88.0 West.
Carpenter said the storm could bring four to six inches of rain to the Lowcountry between Thursday night and Friday with some possible flooding, unsafe rip currents and possibly isolated tornadoes.
Marion County is under a tropical storm watch, and a flood watch has been issued for Sumter County. Unsafe rip currents and beach erosion will remain possible as well.
Water managers across the state are already bracing for more water on the heels of a record wet winter.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott has declared a state of emergency for 42 counties.
Officials said that residents and businesses along the coast should be rapidly making preparations Wednesday, such as boarding up and sandbagging as necessary.
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Lake County can expect two bands wet periods over the next 48 hours, one this afternoon and evening and another tomorrow evening, according to forecasters. The last hurricane to strike, Wilma, hit in late October 2005.
