The Miami-based center says a hurricane hunter plane has determined that a tropical depression strengthened Wednesday into the named storm and Hermine now boasts top sustained winds of 40 miles per hour (65 kph).
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The storm’s expected track shifted slightly west during the day and forecasters said computer models anticipated the potential for more strengthening than had been expected earlier.
Experts predict that the coastal Dare County in North Carolina could experience winds of up to 45 miles per hour with extreme gustiness and severe rains, which could cause flooding, especially along the low-lying areas until Wednesday.
As Tropical Depression Nine swirls over the south-central Gulf of Mexico, the Florida Keys, the southern part of the Florida Peninsula, the western Bahamas and central and western Cuba there will be a risk of flooding downpours and locally gusty thunderstorms into Tuesday night.
Elsewhere, another Category 3 hurricane named Lester – also with top sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph) – was about 1,355 miles (2,180 kilometers) east of Hilo, Hawaii and moving west over the Pacific at 14 mph (22 kph). On the forecast track, the center of the tropical cyclone will approach the northwest Florida coast in the warning area Thursday afternoon. Friction between the storm and the land could also cause some severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in central Florida.
Karins warned of rough surf and unsafe rip currents off of North Carolina as so-called Tropical Depression 8, which had glanced the coastline late Tuesday, headed back out into the Atlantic.
“We are still expecting Tropical Depression 9 to become a tropical storm, but now because of the wind shear it is facing it has not yet been upgraded”, Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Julie Phillips said.
Scott, who declared an emergency in 51 counties, said 6,000 National Guardsmen were poised to mobilize for the storm’s aftermath. “Our teams state wide and locally are ready”.
Dare County Emergency Management Director Drew Pearson writes in an email that the tropical depression resulted in “no impacts” on areas such as Cape Hatteras.
A hotel manager on Ocracoke Island says residents and tourists experienced less than an inch of rain. Byron Miller, manager of The Ocracoke Harbor Inn, said in a telephone interview that “it’s just a normal day”.
The storm will then continue up the East Coast giving way to clearing conditions across the Carolinas by Sunday.
In the Pacific, Category 1 Hurricane Madeline churned toward Hawaii, promising to bring heavy rain and high winds. This is expected to develop into a tropical storm by Tuesday. Total rainfall amounts of 5 to 10 inches are possible over much of the Florida peninsula through Friday morning, with isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches possible.
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The Outer Banks said goodbye to Tropical Depression Eight overnight as forecasters turned their attention to the next storm expected to affect North Carolina and Hampton Roads later this week.
