“At a minimum, we’re going to have some beach erosion, rip currents and unsafe waves all the way from the south facing shores of New England, Cape Cod, Nantucket. down to the Hampton Roads area”, Knabb said.
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Speaking at a news conference in Morristown on Sunday, Gov. Chris Christie warned that minor to moderate flooding was still likely in coastal areas. Sustained winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour, with gusts between 40 to 50 miles per hour, are expected in the city. “This situation may become too large in scope to be handled by the normal county and municipal operating services in Ocean County, Atlantic County and Cape May County, and this situation may spread to other parts of the State”. The storm system was still expected to keep swimmers and surfers out of beach waters because of its risky waves and rip currents, and storm surge and beach erosion remained concerns.
Since sea levels have risen up to a foot due to global warming, the storm surges pushed by Hermine could be even more damaging, climate scientists say.
Some areas there could get one to two inches of rain Monday and Tuesday, and there could be some flooding, Duffey said.
Christie said: “I want to make this clear”. “Jonas had major flooding in Cape May County”. Downgraded to a tropical cyclone, the storm is creeping to the northeastern United States and could strengthen back in to a hurricane.
A handful of people came out to the beach near the famous Steel Pier amusement park, mostly to look at the rough seas. More than 70,000 people were without power in Florida’s first hurricane since Wilma hit October 24, 2005, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
New Jersey officials continue to keep a close eye on Hermine and the potential damage the storm system could cause along the Jersey shore.
Hermine continued Monday to twist hundreds of miles off shore in the Atlantic Ocean and was expected to keep swimmers and surfers out of beach waters because of its risky waves and rip currents on the last day of the long holiday weekend.
The Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security will continue to monitor the latest forecasts and will send out another update Tuesday morning at 9:00 AM or sooner if the track of Hermine changes. The storm will weaken as it approaches Nova Scotia’s eastern half because of cooler ocean water, the Weather Network said.
“The event is far from over”, said National Hurricane Center meteorologist Dennis Feltgen.
Governors all along the Eastern Seaboard announced emergency preparations.
Forecasters say tropical storm-force winds could whip up along the Jersey shore on Monday, and record flooding remained a threat south of the Atlantic City area.
NY officials extended beach closures beyond Labor Day because of continued deadly rip currents, but some ignored the warnings. Emergency officials warned that anyone who stays will not be able to leave after ferries shut down Sunday evening.
Now considered a post-tropical cyclone, Hermine was earlier classified as a Category 1 hurricane until it lost strength while cutting across Florida and Georgia, but forecasters expected winds to return to hurricane force of more than 74 miles per hour by Sunday evening, according to Reuters. It caused two deaths, damaged properties and left hundreds of thousands without electricity from Florida to Virginia, spawned a tornado in North Carolina and closed beaches as far north as NY.
NBC’s News 4 NY reported that several vacationers had posted videos and photos to social media sites Sunday, showing towering seas and gray skies. The storm was centered about 195 miles southeast of Ocean City, Md.
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The storm is expected to remain offshore, but “it’s just going to sit here, spin counterclockwise and produce a ton of wind that’s going to blow pretty much directly on shore”, Sarsalari said.
