As of 5 a.m. Thursday, Hermine was in the Gulf of Mexico about 275 miles west-southwest of Tampa, Fla. and moving north-northeast at 12 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.
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Tropical Storm Hermine could strengthen into a hurricane before making landfall tonight in the Big Bend area of Florida, becoming the first hurricane to hit the state in almost 11 years, forecasters say.
The National Hurricane Center’s 5 a.m. advisory says Hermine is expected to ramp up to 75 miles per hour winds just as it makes landfall late tonight or early tomorrow morning.
The Thursday night/Friday forecast in your local community is entirely dependent on the future track of Tropical Storm Hermine – possibly Hurricane Hermine – and the structure of the storm as it passes through our region.
A hurricane watch is in effect from Anclote River to Destin, FL, in connection with Tropical Storm Hermine, the National Hurricane Center said.
No watches or warnings have been issued for Central Florida. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for other sections of Florida’s Gulf coast.
A hurricane warning was in effect for Florida’s Big Bend from the Suwannee River to Mexico Beach. Forecasters downgraded Madeline from a hurricane to a tropical storm as it veered past Hawaii’s.
Among the dangers this storm poses, one of the most unsafe is storm surge.
And forecasters have been concerned for days about the potential for storm surge in Florida’s Big Bend Region, which is particularly susceptible to it.
The hurricane center is using a prototype storm surge watch-warning graphic to depict the areas most at risk. The hurricane center said 4-8 inches will be possible across parts of eastern Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina through Saturday. Residents in affected areas should expect 5 to 10 inches of rain, with rainfall totals reaching 15 inches in some places. These rains may cause life-threatening flash flooding.
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Isolated tornadoes are also possible in central Florida Wednesday night and into Thursday. Rough surf and risky rip currents also remaining a risk through late Friday into early Saturday.
