Hermine is hundreds of miles off shore in the Atlantic Ocean, but it’s still powerful enough to whip up unsafe waves and rip currents on this last day of the holiday weekend.
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As of 5 p.m. Sunday night, the latest track of the storm, which is packing wind speeds close to a category one hurricane at around 75 M.P.H., is expected to remain well off the New Jersey coast, a National Weather Service map shows.
“Recent forecasts have shown the effects of Tropical Storm Hermine may be less severe in the central New Jersey area as originally expected”, South Brunswick Police said in a statement Sunday afternoon.
At 2 p.m. Sunday, Hermine’s top sustained winds were steady at 70 miles per hour (110 kph) as it moved east-northeast at 6 miles per hour (9 kph).
Hermine is expected to slowly meander off the mid-Atlantic coast for the next couple of days.
Two people are dead after Hermine made landfall in Florida as a hurricane. Those riptides can be unsafe, and we’ve already seen a couple problems due to capsized boats in the area.
Meanwhile, inland areas of Central New Jersey can expect a windy Labor Day with gusts of 20-30 M.P.H. which could bring down some trees and cause power outages, according to officials.
Winds there Saturday afternoon were 25 miles per hour, with gusts of 35 miles per hour, the weather service said. Overall, it really doesn’t look like much rainfall with come from this storm. “This situation may become too large in scope to be handled by the normal county and municipal operating services”. The eastern track means a less severe impact, but you’re still going to see beach erosion, storm surges and unsafe rip currents. “If it increases to a hurricane from a tropical storm, we’ll be prepared for that”. “People can walk on the beach and be on the sand, just not in the water”, he said.
Tropical Storm Hermine brought rain and wind to Carolina Beach late last week, and businesses were anxious as tourists called to cancel their plans on Thursday and Friday.
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency for 12 counties along the Eastern Shore and Southern Maryland.
Cranbury Chief of Police Rickey Varga said he is closely watching the storm and staying in touch with the town’s Office of Emergency Management as well as school district officials as the first day of classes is scheduled for Tuesday.
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He said the biggest impacts for the business were being unable to set up beach umbrellas due to wind, and rough water conditions on Saturday. The identity of the truck driver has not been released.
