“We are already experiencing more and more flooding due to climate change in every storm”, said Michael Oppenheimer, a geosciences professor at Princeton University.
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The forecast early Sunday had the storm moving further out to sea and expected to stall off CT for a few days, bringing winds and rain.
Although Hermine is no longer a hurricane-force storm after hitting Florida earlier this weekend, tropical storm-force wind gusts of 40 to 60 miles per hour, rough seas and significant coastal flooding are still expected along the mid-Atlantic and southern New England coasts on Monday, according to Accuweather.
“We’re still gonna be dealing with winds of about 20 to 30 miles per hour and gusts of 35 to 40 miles per hour once you get out into the ocean waters”, Gaines said Monday morning.
Gov. Cuomo urged New Yorkers to be wary and prepare for the effects of Hermine as it begins moving up the East Coast towards New York City and Long Island.
“These waves are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, and significant beach erosion”, according to a National Weather Service advisory.
Despite sunny skies, holiday beachgoers were warned to avoid the sea Sunday due to unsafe currents and heavy waves.
Moderate to major flooding is expected in Seaside Heights, New Jersey; Atlantic City, New Jersey; Cape May, New Jersey; Lewes, Delaware; and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, during the high tide cycles starting Sunday night and extending into Monday night. “Don’t think that nothing is going to happen, because something is going to happen”. Emergency officials warned that anyone who stayed would not be able to leave after ferries shut down Sunday evening.
It will meander off the mid-Atlantic coast for the next day or two, and after that, the storm is expected to move in a northeast direction again and head out to sea.
“The most unsafe aspect of this storm is going to be at the beaches”.
Michael Mann at Pennsylvania State University noted that this century’s 1-foot sea-level rise in New York City meant 25 more square miles flooded during Superstorm Sandy, causing billions in additional damage.
On Saturday, high winds tipped over an 18-wheeler, killing its driver and shutting down the USA 64 bridge in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.
Anna Marie and Pete Coady, from Frisco, North Carolina, says their street is completely flooded and it looks like their home is “basically in the sound”.
Despite the tropical storm not making landfall on New York City, it could still hit it with high winds and the public beaches remained closed on Labor Day.
“If you weren’t in the flood-prone area, it was like a normal day”, he said. A homeless man in Marion County, in the northern part of the state, died when a tree was ripped from the ground by high winds and fell on him. Three more people were injured in the county when a tornado touched down and damaged trailer homes, according to the NWS. “Oh my God. My hands were white knuckles, and the water was so high”.
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The New York Post said police issued $80 tickets to at least four surfers at Rockaway Beach.
