Storm system Hermine spun away from the U.S. East Coast on Sunday, removing the threat of heavy rain but maintaining enough power to keep beaches at risk for risky waves and currents – and off-limits to disappointed swimmers and surfers during the holiday weekend.
Advertisement
NY officials extended beach closures beyond Labor Day because of continued deadly rip currents.
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.
Feltgen said heavy winds, triggering large waves and swells would affect coastal areas from New Jersey to NY on Sunday and then bring the same to New England through Monday.
Post-Tropical Storm Hermine moved farther to the east than expected and away from the East Coast on Sunday morning, but forecasters said the storm was likely to hang around off the coast for the next few days.
Post-tropical storm Hermine is again nearing hurricane strength, the US National Weather Service said Sunday, posing a “danger of life-threatening inundation” from New Jersey to CT. The National Hurricane Center predicts gusty winds Monday and some wind and clouds Tuesday, but little else.
Even during peak hurricane season, hurricanes that pass north of the Delmarva Peninsula typically weaken because of cooler ocean waters that limit the growth of central thunderstorms. Since the storm is expected to stall south of New England, squalls with tropical storm force winds are expected to linger through mid-week across Cape Cod and the Islands.
It has caused two deaths, inflicted widespread property damage and closed beaches as far north as NY. The storm surge is expected to reach the coast tonight and widespread flooding is expected to occure coinciding with high tides tonight and Monday afternoon. But he said he did not know of any buildings that were actually flooded.
Hermine was the first hurricane to strike Florida in more than a decade, and two deaths – one in Florida and one in North Carolina – have been blamed on the storm.
Water from Roanoke Sound pounds the Virginia Dare Trail in Manteo, N.C., Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016 as Tropical Storm Hermine passes the Outer Banks.
The only tropical storm warnings that remain in effect are the eastern portions of Long Island, the eastern CT coastline and the southern coastlines of Rhode Island and MA.
Since sea levels have risen to a foot because of global warming, the storm surges pushed by Hermine could be even more damaging, climate scientists say. Three more people were injured in the county when a tornado touched down and damaged trailer homes, according to the NWS.
Michael Mann at Pennsylvania State University noted that the 1-foot sea-level rise in New York City over the past 100 years meant 25 more square miles flooded during Superstorm Sandy, causing billions in additional damage.
Advertisement
On Saturday, high winds tipped over an 18-wheeler, killing its driver and shutting down the US 64 bridge in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. It spawned a tornado in North Carolina and closed beaches as far north as NY. 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.
