The tropical system that spun off the warm waters of the Gulf whipped up 80 miles per hour winds that extended out 45 miles per hour from the eye before weakening over land and being downgraded to a tropical storm.
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Hurricane Hermine is forecast to proceed north and affect Georgia and the Carolinas.
Less severe but still risky winds of up to 74 mph spanned several hundred miles as the storm barreled inland over a section of Florida’s coast that stretched from Tampa to the barrier islands south of Pensacola.
Hurricane warnings are now in effect from roughly around Apalachicola eastward to the Big Bend of north Florida.
The center warned that some areas along Florida’s northern Gulf Coast may experience 9 feet (3 m) of flooding. Fla., to the South Santee River in SC. Jacksonville firefighters install storm shutters at Jacksonville Fire and Rescue’s Ladder Company Four in advance of Tropical Storm Hermine Thursday Sept. 1, 2106 in Jacksonville, Fla. Coastal Citrus County was hit especially hard, just as the storm made landfall, by a far-reaching squall line with heavy rains and strong straight-line winds.
Hermine also sent heavy squalls with its outer bands over Gulf Coast beaches elsewhere. While the system will be weakening, it will still bring tropical storm conditions to much of the region late Friday and Friday night.
North Florida should expect to start feeling the effects of Hermine this afternoon.
Early Friday morning, Pasco County Fire Rescue and sheriff’s deputies used high-water vehicles to rescue people from rising water. From there to Aripeka 2 to 4 feet of surge could be possible.
In Wakulla County, south of Tallahassee, a couple suffered minor injuries during the storm when they drove into a tree that had fallen in the road, County Administrator Dustin Hinkel said early Friday.
Courtney Chason, a longtime resident of Carrabelle in the Big Bend coastal area, warily watched as big waves began bashing some docks and boathouses, the angry surf flowing right over them.
Hermine could also bring a lot of rain to Florida.
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. Rains could lead to flooding or flash floods.
And rain from Hermine could spread up the East Coast as well.
Hermine could bring as much as 10 inches of rain to the Outer Banks from tonight into Saturday, and the storm could produce winds as high as 60 miles per hour along the coast, the weather service said.
The Storm Prediction Center has placed a slight risk of severe weather across parts of north and central Florida today.
Local television stations broadcast video footage of buffeting winds, lashing rain and flooded streets.
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Several areas close to the epicenter were evacuated Thursday as the National Weather Service issued a hurricane warning that affected more than 500,000 residents. Rough surf and unsafe rip currents also remaining a risk through late Friday into early Saturday.
