The National Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. advisory says Hermine is expected to ramp up to 75 miles per hour winds just as it makes landfall late tonight or early tomorrow morning.
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Florida’s governor issued a stern warning Thursday for a state that hasn’t had a hurricane landfall for a decade: Hermine, expected to hit the eastern Panhandle by early Friday, could be memorably unsafe.
Rainfall: Hermine is expected to produce storm total rainfall accumulations of 5 to 10 inches over portions of northwest Florida and southern Georgia through Friday, with possible isolated maximum amounts of 20 inches.
Winds of 75mph (120kmph) could gust on Thursday, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. The storm is expected to make landfall tonight as a hurricane – the first to strike the state since 2005. Preparations to protect life and property should be rushed to completion. Here’s the problem – Hermine will interact with a stalled front in central North Carolina, so that means we will still be contending with very heavy rain, strong winds, and tidal flooding.
Adam said the flooding was caused by Hermine’s position in the Gulf of Mexico, but he said flooding would subside as the storm moved inland and the tide went out. We’ll see more scattered showers and storms along the coast but not associated with Hermine.
Hermine continues to strengthen in the Gulf of Mexico, achieving hurricane status this afternoon. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the eye of the storm passed close to Charleston in the early-morning hours of August 31, before moving up the East Coast as a tropical storm through the long weekend. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the tropical storm watch area by Friday night and Saturday.
We are tracking Hurricane Hermine – a Category 1 hurricane with winds sustained at 75 miles per hour. Tropical storm or hurricane force winds are expected to reach the Gulf Coast by Thursday afternoon.
Florida’s governor ordered many state government offices to close at noon, including those in the Tallahassee, home to tens of thousands of state employees.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for.
In New Jersey, swimmers face a moderate or greater risk for risky rip currents Saturday through Labor Day.
Residents on some islands and other low-lying, flood-prone areas in Florida had been urged to clear out.
Hermine is now a Hurricane and will make landfall over Florida at some point this evening. That makes this week rather special: Florida is about to get smacked with its first hurricane in more than a decade.
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Farther north, Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 56 counties in his state, parts of which are expected to get up to 10 inches of rain over the weekend.
