It appears that the impact of storm system Hermine will be less severe than originally feared, New Jersey officials said Sunday, but they urged residents against being lulled into a false sense of security about the storm’s potential.
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Hermine spun away from the East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to whip up unsafe waves and rip currents and keep beaches off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend.
The storm surge should be less powerful – but at 2-4 feet, still unsafe – along coastal areas of New York City, eastern Long Island and Newport, Rhode Island, the weather service said.
Forecasters said Hermine could intensify slightly, with winds reaching hurricane strength again before Hermine starts to diminish.
“It was a little overhyped by the media”, said Andrew Thulin, assistant general manager of Daddy O Hotel Restaurant in Long Beach Township, New Jersey.
Labor Day weekend plans for vacationers headed to beaches along the Atlantic seaboard were dampened after the storm battered Florida’s $117.5 billion tourism industry.
Up to 18cm of rain fell and 50-to-100km/h winds blew from North Carolina to the Eastern Shore, chasing tourists and disrupting Labour Day weekend plans as the USA bade farewell to the summer season.
Parts of the East Coast drew a meteorological reprieve Sunday after the powerful Hermine storm system drifted farther east than forecast, diminishing the threat of further damage after walloping parts of the Southeast with high winds, heavy rains and storm surge.
Life-threatening storm surges are possible Saturday night and Sunday morning around Hampton Roads, Virginia, the hurricane center said.
She stressed that persons in low-lying areas should take all necessary precautions to relocate their vehicles, since flooding is still expected, regardless of the storm’s easterly direction.
Hermine (her-MEEN) already caused two deaths, damaged properties and left hundreds of thousands without electricity from Florida to Virginia. “It was awful”, she said. Worst stretch for rain looks to be Sunday evening into Monday morning, although bands of rain squalls could push west from the storm across the state at any time over the next three days.
Since sea levels have risen to a foot because of global warming, the storm surges pushed by Hermine could be even more damaging, climate scientists say. “We are prepared to assist residents with everything from acquiring shelter to managing the aftermath of the storm”.
As millions in New York City and Long Island brace for Hermine, several agencies at the Emergency Operations Center in Albany are ready for whatever the storm brings.
On Saturday, high winds tipped over an 18-wheeler, killing its driver and shutting down a bridge in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
City officials had initially instituted the beach water ban for Sunday, and said it could extend past Monday’s holiday into Tuesday.
Overnight, four people suffered minor injuries when a tornado hit a campground in Hatteras Village, Dare County, North Carolina, officials said. On friday, a homeless man was killed by a falling tree in Florida.
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The shoreline and beaches could experience winds of 30-40 miles per hour.
