Downgraded from hurricane status after hitting Florida’s Gulf coast earlier on Friday, the storm’s center was around 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of Florida’s capital Tallahassee, passing into Georgia at 0900 GMT, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. The City of Tallahassee is reporting 70,000 homes are without power, according to ABC affiliate WTXL.
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The storm’s center should continue to move further inland across southeastern Georgia on Friday and into the Carolinas overnight and Saturday, forecasters said.
The storm – which some forecasters were predicting could pause off of New Jersey early next week – would be more risky the closer it was to the coast, he added.
Hermine is expected to make landfall at around 1 A.M. Friday. Meanwhile, a lone county advised their people to stay indoors after 9 p.m. The eye of Hermine may be passing through.
In Tallahassee, high winds knocked trees onto several houses injuring residents inside, fire-rescue spokesman Mike Bellamy said.
The National Weather Service warned that a wide swath of the Gulf Coast, from Long Boat Key, near Sarasota, to the Panhandle could continue to see risky weather over the next day.
A tropical storm watch has been issued for the southern parts of New Jersey, including Monmouth and Ocean counties. At 7 a.m. ET, Tropical Storm Hermine was located about 35 miles northeast of Valdosta, GA, and was packing winds of 60 mph.
“We could see many places with smaller rainfall totals through the next couple of days, but could add more of those 2-4” rain totals in localized heavier downpours.
Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for 51 counties as residents braced for the unsafe storm.
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal declared a state of emergency for 56 counties ahead of the storm’s arrival.
This is life threatening.
Residents on some islands and other low-lying, flood-prone areas in Florida had been urged to clear out Thursday.
“Those on higher ground are stocking up and hunkering down”, Pamela Brownlee, the county’s emergency management director, said. Hermine weakened to a tropical storm as it moved inland.
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According to CNN, mandatory evacuation notices are already issued to areas in the Gulf Coast, especially those that are in lower-lying areas and are on water. Life threatening Flash Flooding is possible. Moreover, Florida Government has also declared an emergency state for almost 50 counties. City crews were struggling to keep up with demand for sand with sandbags.
