The center of the system continues to stay almost 400 miles from the Florida coast, moving slowly at 2 mph to the north. Hurricane Watches and Tropical Storm Warnings have been issued for the gulf coast of Florida, as the system expects to pass through the Sunshine State Thursday into Friday.
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“It is crucial that every Floridian has a plan in place to ensure their families, homes and businesses are fully prepared”, Gov. Rick Scott said in declaring the state of emergency for 42 of the state’s counties. About 8,000 Florida National Guard troops are ready to be deployed if needed, Scott added.
The system is expected to make landfall late Thursday or early Friday near the Florida Panhandle as a tropical storm. Hermine is expected to drop between 5 and 10 inches of rainfall in parts of northwest Florida through Friday, with some areas getting up to 20 inches, according to an advisory Wednesday from the National Hurricane Center. These rains could cause life-threatening flash floods and mud slides. The track near the coast combined with a cold front moving into the state will lead to the threat for heavy rainfall in coastal North Carolina Friday and Friday night. The system sustained maximum winds of 60 miles per hour, according to an 11 p.m. update from the National Hurricane Center. If winds reach 74 miles per hour, Hermine will become a hurricane.
Coastal surge as high as 6 feet could hit from Gulf to Pasco counties, the hurricane center said. Tornadoes are also possible late Wednesday into Thursday morning, mainly across central Florida.
As Hawaii prepares for a tropical storm on Wednesday and a potential hurricane over the weekend, the Gulf and East coasts are keeping an eye on a tropical storm moving toward a Thursday night landfall. Forecasters downgraded Madeline from a hurricane to a tropical storm as it veered past Hawaii’s Big Island, but officials reiterated warnings to prepare for heavy rain and strong winds.
The tropical storm warning, issued Wednesday morning, covers an area from Anclote River to the Walton County-Bay County line. A hurricane that has been weakening, wind down to 90mph, and will miss the Big Island just to the south overnight – the center of the storm that is. Hurricane conditions are possible over portions of the hurricane watch area beginning Thursday afternoon.
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Lester, now a major hurricane with winds of 130 mph, is still more than 1,000 miles from Hilo. Tropical storm warnings are in effect for other sections of Florida’s Gulf coast.
