Considerable storm surge and wind damage is being reported from the Big Bend region in Florida where Hermine came ashore Thursday night as a Category 1 hurricane.
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Virtually all of SC is under some sort of weather warning – tropical storm warnings near the coast to high wind warnings farther inland.
Rough surf smashes the shore as Hurricane Hermine nears the Florida coast.
The storm could still bring minor to moderate tidal flooding to shore communities in across DE and New Jersey during high tide from late Saturday through Monday, according to the NWS. Georgia Power reports more than 30,000 Georgians are in the dark this morning, thanks to Hermine.
The US National Hurricane Center said Hermine, the fourth hurricane of the 2016 Atlantic season, made landfall over northwest Florida, east of St Marks, at 1.30am EDT, or 6.30am Irish time.
“Local, state and federal officials have been working diligently to prepare for these storms and have resources on hand to respond to them as necessary”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.
Forecasters said the storm could create a 3.6-meter (12-feet) ocean surge and dump as much as 51 centimeters (20 inches) of rain in some parts of the state. Indian Pass to Chassahowitzka could have a storm surge closer to 4-7 feet.
Captain Chip Wildy told the paper that trees had also fallen on two homes in the southeast part of Marion County.
Hermine is expected to produce up to 10 inches of rain over the southeastern United States from northwest Florida through southern and eastern Georgia into SC and eastern North Carolina, with possible isolated maximum amounts of 15 inches. “According to the National Weather Service, we can see some of the most intense rip tides literally in 10, 15 years”. Other rain totals include 10.73 inches in Seminole, 9.71 inches in Longboat Key and 8.61 inches in Port Richey, The Associated Press reported. Tornadoes in tropical systems typically are brief, but can be very destructive.
Hermine will continue to weaken on that path, but will have a big impact with rainfall and gusty winds near the Carolina coastlines all the way toward the Delmarva through the Labor Day weekend.
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As of midday Friday, more than 30 million people from Florida to NY were under tropical storm watches and warnings through the weekend.
