Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Newton, off Mexico, strengthened into a hurricane.
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He adds it will not make landfall.
The storm was anticipated to bring heavy rain and high winds with the potential for unsafe rip currents and coastal flooding, but tracked further east, missing the impact zone for most of the tristate area.
“People should still not underestimate it”, he said.
The US east coast is bracing for possible severe weather.
As of Sunday evening, tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 370 km from the centre and Hermine could possibly re-strengthen into a hurricane in the next day or so, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). Meteorologist Margaret Curtis from the National Weather Service said the forecast calls for more dry weather this week in northern New England.
It was expected to “meander slowly” off the mid-Atlantic region, moving north-northeast at only 3 mph (5 kph) and stay at least 300 miles (480 km) from shore before beginning to weaken by Monday night, the agency said.
With the storm weakening, the main impacts felt today will be in our local waters.
Hermine was forecast to bring up to 2 inches (5 cm) of rain to Rhode Island and southern MA through Wednesday.
States along the East Coast had already made emergency preparations.
The National Weather Service said a tropical storm warning remains in effect for New Jersey and DE, including Rehoboth Beach, 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.
But forecasters are warning it could continue to impact areas from NY to southern New England with pounding waves, coastal flooding and beach erosion before it moves out to sea.
New York City said all public beaches would be closed through Tuesday because of “life threatening” rip currents generated by Hermine. The Coast Guard is warning about rough surf and strong rip currents because of the impending tropical storm.
The waves eroded some of the shore, creating sand dune cliffs where kids climbed. A tropical storm warning remains in effect for Suffolk County but was lifted Monday in Nassau County.
“The surf’s still going to be pretty rough”, he said.
“People from NY and New Jersey are kind of stuck here (during bad weather), so they can still come”, if forecasts don’t play out as predicted, Khan said.
Hermine has been linked to at least two deaths – one man sleeping in a tent in Ocala died after a tree fell on him, while another, a truck driver, died when his vehicle overturned due to high winds in eastern North Carolina.
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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.
