Hermine has been upgraded to hurricane. It was moving to the north-northeast at 12 miles per hour.
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The storm bearing down on Florida’s northwest coast strengthened into Hurricane Hermine on Thursday afternoon and is on its way to becoming the first hurricane to strike Florida in 11 years.
Hurricane warnings are now in effect from roughly around Apalachicola eastward to the Big Bend of north Florida. Tropical storm watches are in effect as far north as New Jersey. Fla., to the South Santee River in SC. Areas as far south as Fort Myers and Naples along the west coast of the peninsula have seen storm surge flooding and this will remain a concern well into Friday.
Inland areas in Florida – and Alabama – were also under warnings.
“There is a danger of life-threatening inundation within the next 12 to 24 hours along the Gulf coast of Florida”, it added. That means tropical storm wind conditions are expected somewhere within the area within the next 36 hours. Winds are already near tropical storm strength in portions of the warning area, making outside preparations hard or unsafe.
All eyes are on Hurricane Hermine. We will be on the quiet side of the tropical system.
And forecasters have been concerned for days about the potential for storm surge in Florida’s Big Bend Region, which is particularly susceptible to it. Storm surges of six to nine feet could hit the coast from the Ochlockonee River to Yankeetown, in Taylor and Dixie counties.
Hundreds of schools and government offices will be closed Friday as residents brace for the storm’s full impact.
It will weaken into a tropical storm as it crosses through SC and southern North Carolina. Roadways and parking lots may also become flooded as storm drains and retention ponds overflow. Rain totals in these areas could reach as high as 4 to 6 inches with local amounts to 8 inches. The rain will then spread into Hampton Roads.
Florida is under a bevy of watches and warnings, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott and Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal have declared states of emergency for their respective states ahead of the storm.
In an article posted in Popular Science, even though Hermine is moving north across the state, forecasters advised the residents of Florida that should not just take note of this projected path of the hurricane because Hermine is an “extremely asymmetric storm” that there is still a possibility that it will bring damages to the east and south of the storm.
The Storm Prediction Center has placed a slight risk of severe weather across parts of north and central Florida today.
This storm will impact our holiday weekend forecast.
RIP CURRENTS: “A moderate to high risk for the formation of risky rip currents will continue through at least Labor Day, and may continue into Tuesday”, the weather service said in a storm briefing Thursday evening.
Finally we are monitoring an area of limited thunderstorms about 800 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands for possible development. Heavy surf on the beaches… risky rip currents.
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USA oil and gas producers in the east of the Gulf of Mexico removed workers from 10 offshore platforms, moved drilling rigs and shut some output because of the storm.
