Hermine remained a post-tropical cyclone Sunday, as it traveled northeast along the East Coast, carrying the threat of coastal flooding, beach erosion and unsafe rip currents.
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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said officials were still on alert, especially on the state’s southern coast where he declared a state of emergency in three counties.
The National Weather Service said a tropical storm warning remains in effect for Rehoboth Beach in DE, which could experience wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour and life-threatening storm surges during high tide late Sunday and into Monday.
The storm, which claimed at least two lives, in Florida and North Carolina, is expected to stall off the coast of New Jersey and other major population centers in the Northeast for several days, according to the National Hurricane Center.
“It’s going to sit offshore and it is going to be a tremendous coastal event with a risky storm surge and lots of larger waves probably causing significant beach erosion, for the next few days”, said Daniel Brown, senior hurricane specialist at the center. “I urge all residents and visitors in low-laying coastal areas to be vigilant of flooding during high tide and to check local weather reports before heading out to Labor Day celebrations tomorrow”.
North Carolina’s Emergency Management office warned of strong rip currents, high seas and beach erosion as the storm moved through.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone has also declared a State of Emergency, saying “although this storm will not hit us directly, the storm could potentially be worse in some ways”.
Sea level rise caused by climate change could mean the damage wrought by Post-Tropical Cyclone Hermine will be even greater than previous surges, scientists warned this weekend. 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.
Already packing sustained wind gusts maxing at 70 miles per hour, Hermine threatens deadly flooding along the East Coast. Officials said storm surges would be “accompanied by large and unsafe waves”, and they warned of the possibility of “life-threatening inundation” from Virginia to CT.
Now a Tropical Storm – Hurricane Hermine made landfall east of St. Marks, Florida early Friday morning. CT governor Daniel Malloy has ordered all state park campgrounds to be closed at noon today.
Tropical Storm Hermine is slated to slow down Sunday, but it is still expected to bring nor’easter conditions to the city.
According to the NHC, Hermine is now off the coast of North Carolina and moving east-northeastward, but is expected to turn northward on Sunday. New York City beaches would remain closed to swimmers on Labor Day and possibly Tuesday, the city said.
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An estimated 325,000 people were without power statewide, many in the Tallahassee area, and more than 107,000 in neighboring Georgia, officials said. “This is a much better scenario for a lot of people”.
