While Bermuda looks like it will be spared from Tropical Storm Hermine, CNN is reporting that a “state of emergency has been declared for most of Florida as Tropical Storm Hermine moved through the Gulf of Mexico toward the Florida panhandle Wednesday”.
Advertisement
Water temperatures are very warm ahead of Hermine and it may continue to strengthen as it approaches land. The National Hurricane Center has named it Tropical Storm Hermine.
“Enhanced showers and gusty thunderstorms can be expected with localized flooding possible along the system’s path”, AccuWeather Meteorologist Ed Vallee said.
Parts of the Florida Gulf Coast have been placed under a tropical storm warning and a hurricane watch.
The center said the Georgia and SC coasts should expect 4 to 7 inches of rain after the storm swings northeast from Florida, and amounts could reach 10 inches in some places.
N.C. Emergency Management said in a news release Wednesday afternoon that a “moderate” risk of inland flooding exists, especially east of I-95, where 5-7 inches of rain is expected – and possibly up to 10 inches. As much as 20 inches (50 cm) could fall from central to northern Florida, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said, warning of flash floods and mudslides.
Tropical storm conditions are possible Thursday afternoon and evening, according the the NWS. There is a possibility of life-threatening inundation within the next 48 hours along the Gulf coast of Florida from Aripeka to Indian Pass. There will also be a threat for isolated tornadoes to the east of the center. Popular with campers and nature lovers, the island and its roughly 15 square miles of federally protected wilderness are scheduled to reopen Saturday morning unless there’s significant storm damage, the park service said in a news release.
Early models suggest that the storm will be a hurricane as it turns out to sea. A system off the North Carolina coast, now called Tropical Depression Eight, is in competition with Tropical Depression Nine to become the next tropical storm.
Advertisement
Although the system is expected to hit “somewhere well north of Tampa Bay”, Fleming said people should reduce travel and have a plan in case power outages occur.
