A homeless man died during the storm after a tree struck him, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said.
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First Alert Meteorologist Mike Buresh says Hermine is expected to bring heavy rain, wind and the possibility of tornados and waterspouts to Northeast Florida and Southeast Georgia. As of early Friday, the 110-mph hurricane was still 480 miles from Hilo, Hawaii, but was moving to the west-northwest at 14 mph, according to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center.
Hurricane Hermine was downgraded to a tropical storm early Friday, but courts and county offices along the Georgia and SC coasts closed for the day due to the continued threat of risky flooding and high winds and the potential for tornados.
Gusts of 130km/h caused storm surges that flooded part of the coast. Outages also were reported in Georgia and the Carolinas. Rain totals in these areas could reach as high as 4 to 6 inches with local amounts to 8 inches.
Long Island has been placed under a tropical storm watch as Tropical Storm Hermine threatens to churn up the East Coast and disrupt Labor Day Weekend festivities.
Affected areas of Georgia saw about 83,000 customers without power Friday afternoon.
As of Friday afternoon, more than 60,000 residents still don’t have power.
Apalachicola, Florida prepares for storms. Flooding was expected across a wide swath of the marshy coastline of the Big Bend – the mostly rural and lightly populated corner where the Florida peninsula meets the Panhandle. Lake Tarpon Canal, northwest of Tampa, saw more than 22 inches of rain, according to The Weather Channel.
The storm’s winds uprooted a pine tree in Gatlin’s backyard and sent it crashing onto his home of more than 40 years.
Although just a category one storm when it made landfall, Hermine has caused significant damage in Florida’s capital city and outlying areas. Crews are working hard to restore power. 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. New York City already anticipated the storm by announcing it would shut down its beaches Sunday.
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Pictures of the flooding also show vehicles floating down the street following the extreme weather, which was downgraded to a tropical storm as it left Florida and headed northeast towards Georgia.
