As of 5 p.m. ET on Thursday, tropical storm watches were hoisted for the Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey coast all the way north to Sandy Hook, N.J.
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Even with a tropical storm passing just inland from the coast, a strong onshore wind could lead to a minor storm surge late Friday.
– Governor Nathan Deal has declared a state of emergency for 56 Georgia counties, in advance of Hurricane Hermine.
“That simply gives us access to resources, to financial resources to be able to be able to act accordingly and do things as this storm develops and has an impact on our area”, he said.
As Tropical Storm Hermione approached landfall, several airlines have announced they will waive change fees for affected travelers heading to Florida and parts of the Southeast.
Hermine was expected to blow ashore late Thursday or early Friday along the state’s Big Bend – the mostly rural and lightly populated corner where the Florida peninsula meets the Panhandle – then drop back down to a tropical storm and push into Georgia, the Carolinas and up the East Coast with the potential for drenching rain and deadly flooding.
The storm earned its status as a hurricane just before 3 p.m. when winds reached 75 miles per hour, and forecasters expect it to remain a Category 1 storm when it makes landfall.
In Charlotte County in Southwest Florida, “the good news is that’s a place where people have respect for what a hurricane can do”, Wayne Sallade, director of emergency management for the county, said.
The last hurricane to strike Florida was Hurricane Wilma, which entered the state from along southwest Gulf Coast as a major Category 3 storm on October 24, 2005.
Scott says people in the area should take action now to protect themselves and ensure they have enough food, medicine and water. The projected track has the storm moving through northern Florida and southeast Georiga and into the eastern Carolinas over the next day or so. The storm is expected to slam Florida with flooding rain, damaging wind, storm surge and tornadoes.
Florida is expected to get drenched this Labor Day Weekend, as Hurricane Hermine grows stronger and is forecast to make landfall.
Saturday afternoon into Sunday is when Maryland is likely to be impacted by the storm. Orlando received about.8 inches of rain Wednesday – about half an inch more than normal, but nowhere near last year’s record of 3.5 inches.
The worst conditions from Hermine in SC are expected to be during the day on Friday.
The alert runs from noon Thursday through midnight Saturday.
A tropical storm watch has been posted for a number of counties in southeastern North Carolina and a flash flood watch is in effect for Friday. An isolated rain chance is possible early on but most are in line for sunny skies, afternoon highs in the low 90s, and less humidity.
Tropical Storm Warning in effect for the all counties in southern SC and southeast Georgia, as well as all coastal waters, including Charleston Harbor.
-HEAVY RAIN: A moderate threat exists for heavy rain, especially late Thursday Night and Friday.
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Unsafe conditions will exist for marine interests, with seas up to 10 to 15 feet and winds gusts up to 55 knots are possible, mainly Friday and Friday evening.
