Tropical Storm Hermine could cause hazardous weather, rip tides this weekend

Long Island has been placed under a tropical storm watch as Tropical Storm Hermine threatens to churn up the East Coast and disrupt Labor Day Weekend festivities.

As of 5 a.m., the National Weather Service said the weakened Hermine’s maximum sustained wind was measured at 70 miles per hour.

The city of Tampa is giving out sandbags for Hurricane Hermine to make sure water does not get into homes of residents. It is the first hurricane to hit the area in 11 years.

The NASA/NOAA GOES Project at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland compiled visible and infrared imagery from NOAA’s GOES-East satellite from August 31 to September 2 into an animation. The animation also shows Hermine’s movement into Georgia where it weakened to a tropical storm. Instead it likely will be a post-tropical storm, the type of storm Superstorm Sandy was at landfall.

“Those chances are greatest this afternoon in Northeast Florida, where Hermine is exiting to the Northeast, and where there will a little sunshine this afternoon in between some of those rain bands”.

Rainfall totals of 4 to 8 inches are expected across portions of the southeastern United States from southeast Georgia, central to eastern SC and eastern North Carolina, with local amounts of 10 inches possible through Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said.

A resident points back to his home as he speaks with law enforcement officers using an airboat to survey damage around homes from high winds and storm surge associated with Hurricane Hermine.

“Additional weakening is forecast while Hermine moves farther inland”, NHC added. Some re-strengthening is expected after the center moves offshore of the North Carolina coast on Saturday.

The weather service states that this means tropical storm wind conditions are possible within the next 48 hours. Recently reported wind gusts include 46 miles per hour (74 kph) at Brunswick, Georgia, and St. Augustine, Florida. The estimated minimum central pressure is 987 millibars.

Hermine will continue to cross through eastern SC through the rest of the evening with tropical storm conditions across much of the area. A few tornadoes are possible Thursday afternoon into Thursday night over north Florida and southeast Georgia.