According to CNN, the storm is expected to gain strength on Sunday as it moves further out into the Atlantic Ocean.
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Tropical Storm Hermine was intensifying Saturday along the Atlantic Coast, threatening heavy rain, wind and storm surges on its northward march. Sunday morning but National Weather Service forecasters say the storm will slow and turn northwest off the Mid-Atlantic coast and linger for the next several days.
In addition to powerful winds extending up to 185 miles (295 km) from its center, Hermine was expected to unleash a risky storm surge in the Hampton Roads area of tidewater Virginia, the NHC warned.
At 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT), the center of the fourth named storm of the 2016 Atlantic hurricane season was moving at about 12 miles per hour (19 kph) in waters off Norfolk, with sustained winds of up to 70 miles per hour (113 kph), the NHC said.
As of late Friday, about 30 million people along the US East Coast were under tropical storm watches and warnings through the weekend.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency for 12 counties along the Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland.
At 11 a.m. Saturday, Hermine was centered just off North Carolina’s Outer Banks, with top sustained winds of 65 miles per hour (100 kph), moving east-northeast at 15 miles per hour (24 kph).
And on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks, a small tornado spawned by Hermine knocked over two trailers and injured four people, authorities said.
Earlier in Florida, a homeless man died from a falling tree.
It’s also possible Hermine will gain strength once it reaches the warm water in the Atlantic, and even if it doesn’t attain hurricane status again, it will still be a very unsafe system.
In Panama City, a popular Labor Day destination, organizers canceled one of the major tourist draws, the Gulf Coast Jam. Officials said the stage for the three-day country music event had to be taken down as the winds picked up.
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.
He called the weekend “definitely disappointing”, although his indoor bounce house was packed.
The forecast shows tropical storm conditions are possible for Monday, dependent on Tropical Storm Hermine’s path.
In Savannah, Georgia, Bacon Fest was canceled Friday and the Craft Brew Fest had to move beer tents indoors. A Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band concert set for Virginia Beach also was postponed from Saturday to Monday because of the storm.
“That strengthening could impact places from Nantucket, Cape Cod, New York City, even up and down the New Jersey coast”, said CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar.
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A medical examiner’s office has yet to determine whether the storm was the cause, Florida Gov. Rick Scott said.
