The National Hurricane Center expects the storm to track across Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas on Friday before reaching the Atlantic Ocean; the path after that is somewhat unpredictable but should keep the storm at least somewhat close to the US coast.
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Hermine made landfall in the Big Bend area as a Category 1 hurricane, bringing with it winds of 80 miles per hour, several inches of rain and storm surge.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said the hurricane made landfall along the Florida coast, just east of St. Marks. But after slamming Florida, the storm will make its way up the eastern seaboard with rough surf, heavy rain and winds gusting up to 60 miles per hour.
After battering coastal Florida, Hermine is expected to weaken and move across the northern part of the state into Georgia, then southern US coastal regions on the Atlantic. While the sun might come out Monday, the rough water will continue. It is also expected that Hurricane Hermine will bring storm surges of between three feet and 12 feet in certain counties and drop as much as 20 inches of rain, according to New York Times.
“We’ve dodged bullet after bullet after bullet”, Duffy said, but added that Hermine has taken “dead aim” at the city, where blustery winds sent trees swaying. It left 70,000 households in the state capital Tallahassee and thousands more elsewhere without power.
It made landfall in the Big Bend area, a part of the coast where the state’s peninsula meets the Panhandle.
The surge of ocean water could be as high as 9 feet above normal levels, forecasters said, as authorities warned its effect was not limited to Florida.
Scott said the greatest concern was a storm surge, which could inundate the region and leave people trapped in their houses during the passage of the hurricane.
In Georgia, Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 56 counties, including parts of south, central and coastal Georgia.
A tornado watch means tornadoes are possible in and near the watch area. The forecast track will take it through SC today and towards the Outer Banks Saturday morning.
The storm was triggering heavy rain from Tampa, FL, to southern Georgia and into SC.
Around 6,000 National Guardsmen in Florida are ready to mobilize after the storm passes, officials said. Lesser amounts were forecast farther up the Atlantic Coast, because the storm was expected to veer out to sea.
Although that track could change by the weekend, a public briefing released Thursday morning by the National Weather Service reads that the storm will in some way affect shore communities throughout New Jersey and Delaware.
At least 70,000 homes were now without power due to the storm.
The last hurricane to strike Florida was Wilma, a powerful Category 3 storm that hit on October 24, 2005.
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Madeline battered the state Wednesday with heavy rains and strong winds. It swept across the Everglades and struck highly populated south Florida, causing five deaths in the state and an estimated $23 billion in damage.
