Hermine is expected to make landfall in Florida as a category one hurricane, becoming the state’s first since 2005. Several Florida schools announced closings on Thursday or Friday due to the storm.
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A hurricane warning is in effect in Florida from the Suwannee River to Mexico Beach, and a hurricane watch is now in effect from the Anclote River to the Suwannee River and west of Mexico Beach to the Walton/Bay County line in Florida.
Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency for 42 Florida counties on Wednesday as residents braced for the risky weather conditions.
Forecasters warned Hermine could pack wind gusts topping 80mph with storm surge reaching 7 feet. “Winds are expected to first reach tropical storm strength by this afternoon, making outside preparations hard or unsafe”.
The governor added that they were preparing for significant storm surge, significant winds, downed power lines, heavy rain, and flooding. On the East Coast, a tropical storm warning has been issued for an area that extends from Marineland, Florida, northward to the South Santee River in SC. The storm was centered about 275 miles west-southwest of Tampa, Florida early Thursday and was moving north-northeast near 12 mph. After the storm battered the Gulf of Mexico with 60 miles per hour winds, many expect Hermine will turn into a hurricane by the time it hits the Sunshine state!
The last hurricane to strike Florida was Wilma in 2005, which made landfall in the USA the same year as Katrina.
Hurricane warnings play on the television while Tim Rozelle, left, stacks beer on a cart held by Murray Stokes, Aug. 31, 2016 in Saint Marks, Florida. “People living in flood-prone areas will need to review evacuation procedures”. He says he’s mostly anxious about the new equipment he’s recently purchased for the waterfront restaurant.
Flooding is expected across a wide swath of the Big Bend area, which has a mostly marshy coastline.
“This building right here is pretty safe and pretty strong so I think it will be all right”, Keeton said. The center of Hermine is expected to track west of the Carolina coast Friday and Friday night.
The center also expanded a tropical storm watch from Georgia into SC.
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In Charleston County, emergency officials have a message for residents: Stay home on Friday.
