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Post-Tropical Cyclone Hermine near hurricane strength Monday

On Monday, Hermine’s position southeast of Nantucket created 20-foot waves and wind gusts of as much as 50 kph about 55 miles southeast of the island, Kim Buttrick, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Taunton, Mass., told the Associated Press. “And this storm is moving so slowly, it’s still going to cause the same thing it’s causing now tomorrow, and in some places Wednesday as well”. Additional gradual weakening is likely during the next couple of days, and Hermine may weaken below tropical storm force by Thursday. “Tampa, generally considered as one of the most flood-prone locations in the USA, has received over 20 inches of rain from the precipitation bands associated with Hermine”, the company notes.

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WIND: As mentioned above, the wind is whipping out there.

Just after 8 a.m., wind speed was 21 mph, with gusts of 31 mph at Sikorsky Memorial airport in Stratford and at Oxford airport; at Danbury airport, winds were 14 mph, justing to 23 mph. Tropical storm force wind is 39 MPH-74 miles per hour; we will see gusts between 30-50 miles per hour. While the waves off shore continue to be rough, the risk of any coastal flooding is now over with. Luckily, we are not at astronomical high tide, which will lower the overall impact of flooding; however, there may be some flooding as a result of the continual wind off the storm, especially at the times of high tide which is later this afternoon.

Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, breezy and humid, slight chance for shower. But the threat of high winds and storm surges had already ruined holiday plans for many, as beaches closed across the Northeast and were expected to remain closed on Monday.

Shipping interests typically avoid the storms, and if Hermine lingers, as she is forecast to do, inventories of crude oil would be drawn down, despite continuing oil-by-rail volumes.

“RAIN: scattered showers will continue with rainfall amounts of ¼” to ½” expected today. In fact, some CT towns may not receive any rain, especially in the western side of the state.

In St. Pete, Hurricane Hermine flooded roads and forced Critters Cafe to close early four nights, lowing about two thirds of their business. Despite Hurricane Hermine making landfall in the Big Bend area early Friday morning with gusts of up to 80 miles per hour, Jefferson County largely escaped harm. On Friday morning, most of Monticello and large parts of the county were without electricity, with the outage situations persisting for many until midnight Sunday.

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Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Monday have ranged from a morning low of 28 degrees at Meacham, Ore.to a midday high of 102 degrees at East Cameron 278, La.

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